Gustafsson returns to Heavyweight to face Ben Rothwell….

Chael Sonnen talks Gustafsson's return to Heavyweight to face Ben Rothwell on this episode of Beyond the Fight
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All things UFC and MMA with the undefeated Bad Guy, Chael Sonnen. UFC Champions, Jon Jones, Conor McGregor, Colby Covington, Khamzat Chimaev, the MMA hour and commentary on the latest UFC news, UFC Champions in 2022, UFC knockouts and finishes.

[@alikilisli3763]

Only Chael can make a comeback fight sound like a legitimate history lesson.

[@durgapur_97]

Gustaffson: the greatest fighter who came this close to having everything, but then lost it. The fighter, who gave an unbeatable Jon Jones the greatest, toughest fights of his career, and then lost to Anthony Smith. Even Jon coke Jones himself admitted to Gus’ superb skill set, during his Hall of Fame speech. What a guy, Gus is. Hope he does wells

[@jameshorton3692]

Yeah crazy, same comment with his DC fight. That was a total war.

[@adammckenzie8769]

Took smith to easy OR wasn’t in right head space…. He’s levels above smith most days!!!

[@RZ6787]

@@adammckenzie8769 nahh i think he just fell off.

[@youinanotherform1965]

You can't pluralize fight for "toughest fights" for Jon Jones. He gave Jon his toughest fight. The 2nd one was a one sided ass whoopin.

[@WhateverWhateverwtghvh]

Reyes and Thiago?

[@RudeBoySka216]

Gustafsson really is an awesome fighter, i thought he won against Jones in their first fight. But i was pretty disappointed in his heavyweight debut... I actually never thought he would move up to heavyweight, I hope he can beat Rothwell and secure himself in that weight class.

[@ChuckMabbitt]

How many times have we seen a legit standup fighter get tapped? Plenty. Stop being casual… Ben couldn’t take down Cejudo

[@nathanchristman6660]

@@ChuckMabbitt ben is literally the only man to tap josh barnett who has 19 submission wins to his name.

[@nathanchristman6660]

@@ChuckMabbitt oof u claimed for others not to be casual but didn't even know ben can grapple.

[@JGD185]

Rothwell's TKO of Overeem is one of my favorites, after he starts dancing like a bear lol it's hilarious

[@JM-223-]

None of y’all can fight tho lmao and Ben Vs Gus is gonna be a terrible underwhelming fight

[@MVRosie]

Just imagine if he can make a run and jones can win the strap to see them 2 again at heavyweight. Would be amazing no matter how unlikely it is to happen

[@rcbfitetalk1019]

I would LOVE This, man

[@Chicken-Chaser]

Not the matchup I expected but I think its actually a pretty good one. He just got submitted by Werdum, which isn't something to be ashamed of, a fight with Ben would be a good way to see where Alexander stands at heavyweight and at this stage of his career.

[@CT-yr8ph]

I’m just nervous for Gus still. Ben has serious power

[@Bigman-ik8ss]

@@CT-yr8ph yeah ben has power but hes not the same fighter that he used to be... And gus should take advantage of him with his speed and footwork

[@matthewklein9225]

Gus moves up before johnny boy

[@ChuckMabbitt]

Ben’s power won’t be an issue for Gus’s movement. If Ben develops a clinch game, that’ll be an issue.

[@andrewpatterson2106]

👏👏 well said 👍

[@Razear]

Hilarious how Gus will have multiple heavyweight fights before Jon even makes his heavyweight debut. Two types of people in this world, those that talk about doing something, and those that go do it.

[@sukhdevr3489]

I guess Jon doesn't really have much motivation compared to Gus since he's smashed everyone for years (less so in recent years though).

[@kennylifts]

Wish he would move back down weight classes. He's already beaten both of the last 2 light heavyweight champs. Jan and Glover back to back. Its a shame he never got the belt.

[@stevenpatton8995]

He might not wanna cut weight no more because he was a big LHW, plus he could be trying to build confidence, KO's HW's can do that.

[@bullymaguire9863]

You could see the doubt when he fought Anthony Smith. Before he fought Johnson, he was oozing confidence, willing to take a shot to give one. When he fought Smith it took 2 whole rounds for him to actually start to gain confidence when he had already gotten hit, unfortunately for him he ended up on the bottom. He has confidence issues.

[@bzd-ts7bm]

im surprised gus didnt reassess and stay at lhw. you can say the rumble fight had a huge negative affect on his career in terms of momentum now he wins a few and possibly looks towards Francis a bigger scarier rumble. i honestly belove a strog performance at lhw they'll put him in an eliminator and potentially fight glover(if still champ)who he put a master class on against a few years back

[@tonesfightempire5953]

With all due Respect, Rumble has better Footwork, moves faster and has better wrestling than Ngannou. Ngannou is a bigger more stationary version of Rumble.

[@dimwitter]

Rumble is way better than ngannou

[@squadabingo9113]

Imagine Gus goes on a run and rematches Jones at heavy weight and steals the title with a powerful knockout!!!

[@JoseMartinez-zh1tk]

Sorry possible!!!

[@JGD185]

Unlikely but I wish it would happen

[@snuffcarl]

In a different just universe

[@passenger3]

Love these talks from Cheal and how he can relate to the fighters but most of all I love how he brings them across to his audience. Its A1 Content For A Fight Fan 👌

[@thenightmareandress2298]

Chael sonnen is a legend When interviewed and holding the belt the interviewer asks correct me if I’m wrong isn’t silver the champ? The goat replies” yes you are wrong I thought in a fight when you get choked out and tap it’s an indication for your tag team partner to jump in I didn’t understand the rules then” Undisputed and undefeated chael p sonnen

[@saltysax81]

Do you mean Silva ? Because silver implies Chael's holding second place..

[@thenightmareandress2298]

Yup my auto corrected it to silver from silva

[@nickcarter3491]

That’s not the correct quote lmao

[@reindeerman214]

I 100% believe Motivated Alex could have become champ at LHW by beating Blachowicz, or this time Texeira, again. Werdum is not a loss to be ashamed of. Man's a legend.

[@selfdiscardedkingofruin7291]

He should stay at 205 imo.

[@Freeez]

he could win the 205 title at the moment lol

[@TaiLung145]

@@Freeez facts Lol he knocked the fuck out of Glover when Glover was in his prime

[@TaiLung145]

@@Freeez he also beat błachowicz

[@Freeez]

@@TaiLung145 he will sleep both not even close and finally be the guy who got the title. After years of being less than few punches away from getting it wrapped around his waist im rly hopping thats gonna be the case if texeira wins his next fight and calls him out for a rematch

[@TaiLung145]

@@Freeez Nah błachowicz would knock him out

[@gltraffinstead8875]

I felt Leon Edward's shudder when chael said "three pieces" at 4:46

[@OfficialDJReload]

I wonder if he's moving up just to get another shot at Jones in a new weight class

[@jacksdad734]

A buddy of mine goes about 5’7 160. Hes got a picture of him and Rothwell with his wingspan out making a scream face. Ben looks 3 times his size.

[@thesilentassassin1167]

3 times wingspan as well? Ben is huge dude anyways walks around 280+Lbs

[@TheSkinnerdawinner]

I’m 6’1.5 and I looked tiny next to Rothwell. He’s massive and thick everywhere

[@Jakedestroysgods]

I never would have imagined this match-up. Nice.

[@leetheflea4096]

I love how Chaels titles always make it seem like he's perplexed, the dots at the end

[@Khedran]

Ben Rothwell has actually underperformed in the UFC while simulatenously beating guys I didn't expect him too. People forget but he and Roy Nelson were rival heavyweight top dogs in the IFL. Roy Nelson went on to become UFC famous, and I wish Rothwell had too... cheesy maniacal laugh and all

[@sciencenate]

@@Mixed-Media-Arts and you don’t end a sentence with it

[@fredrikdalianis7083]

Gustafsson was caught in an armbar by one of the greatest of all time

[@Mr-E.]

Gustafsson vs. Jones 3 at heavyweight would be entertaining.

[@wisdomincoming12]

Maybe if Gus didn’t get embarrassed by an old flabby werdum. Unfortunately UFC 165 is all Alexander will be remembered for

[@rohansharma6804]

@@wisdomincoming12 every fighter has bad days even jon jones had them in and outside the octagon where the performances were not great still I believe Gus is great fighter and let him fight why not

[@sukhdevr3489]

@@wisdomincoming12 What about impressively beating the current champ Glover?

[@keithgordon3823]

I must have watched that wicked combo Alex put on Glover a thousand times! (That uppercut, to end it!) And Glover is the sitting 🏆 CHAMP!!! GUSS shouldn't have retired, in my opinion.

[@CoolnessOver-vf4mm]

He should have stayed in lhw. After dc n jon left he was probably the 3rd best.

[@keithgordon3823]

@@CoolnessOver-vf4mm I agree 💯

[@CC-oi9mc]

Always exciting to see Alex fight regardless of the outcome

[@theDavidChannel1]

This is actually another tough matchup for Gus. Rothwell is a huge, durable HW. And you know the UFC brass will be watching and ready to cut either one of these men should they lose.

[@legendarylifts8836]

Na rothwell is washed up. Was very underrated in his prime though.

[@sukhdevr3489]

@@legendarylifts8836 Gus may be washed up as well, he hasn't had an impressive performance in a long time.

[@tfurgztypa4645]

you know the truth when you hear it! 👏👏👏

[@1729abhishek]

Incredible analysis by Chael. Three pieces are involved: the weight, the placement on the card, the mentality of the fighter. Only question I was left with was… … where does Kevin Lee fit into all of this?

[@sukhdevr3489]

What about the soda?

[@Pannkakaize]

Agree with you 100 procent

[@ChuckMabbitt]

A standup fight between Ben and Alexander will be entertaining. If Ben uses his weight, it won’t be a competition. I love Gus… pray for a win so we can see Jones vs. Gus at heavyweight!

[@squadabingo9113]

Damn dude I thought I was the first to say it. Great minds brother. Great minds

[@ChuckMabbitt]

Glad another hardcore fan is in the comments! Keep it real my man!

[@squadabingo9113]

@@ChuckMabbitt 💯

[@ReydelCielo3339]

Gus not going back to light heavyweight with the state the division is right now is absolutely nuts imo

[@ChuckMabbitt]

Light heavyweight is too developed for older style fighters. Hw is full of slow, power punchers. Perfect time for Jon, Stipe, and Gus

[@wipeout7184]

Lowkey could be champion too

[@ReydelCielo3339]

@@ChuckMabbitt The champion is a guy Gus put a clinic on dude

[@ChuckMabbitt]

@@ReydelCielo3339 it was an impressive fight but Jan and glover are both washed. Wait until jiri, aleksander, or Magomed get their shot. It’ll be different, casual

[@ReydelCielo3339]

@@ChuckMabbitt Casual my ass. Jiri is reckless and gets hit a lot, the guy just trusts his chin and he literally got KO'd by Reyes mid fight, he's far from unbeteable. Ankalaev is likely to be champion someday but if Gus came back in an impressive fashion he would 100% get the shot in less time than Ankalaev would

[@dinomaxwell-economides3201]

He’s doing it to get into the ring with jon again

[@christinehemberger5177]

💯 agree guss needs to aim for the top once again

[@CT-yr8ph]

Gustafson via uppercut with a ridge wallet in the glove then goes and eats magic spoon with joe Rogan in the interview

[@Jacob-hv6rn]

Really hope Alex gets a belt before he retires for good

[@vfjcooper1627]

UFC Sweden. Gustafsson Main and Hermanasson Co-main

[@ossipozzi1238]

As a Swede I have to agree! If Gus was in a Ufc event in Sweden I would die to watch it

[@Lukerbts]

Gotta admire Gus man he’s got some balls

[@TruthSeeker-rn1tm]

I love me some Gufftasson.

[@restlessransom7617]

gus wants the rematch with jon at heavyweight 👏🏼👏🏼😤

[@FantasySportsZen]

Asking a lot Chael considering what Gus has done. I'll take any fight of his I can get and appreciate each one. Hope he looks sharp.

[@JonathanRodriguez-yn2uc]

Uncle Chael, what if Gusafasson is doing it to get the 3rd fight with Jones.

[@onefastr6]

Yea bc Gustafson looked so great in his HW debut. 🙄

[@stuiek8044]

This is the type of topic that I can actually tolerate chaels opinion on RN. #letsGoFrancis

[@kitnoman]

After that fight, let’s get Gus and Jones again at HW

[@SilkyWelch]

Hey serious question to the Bad Guy , is Chael Short for Michael??

[@robertm9490]

Agreed!

[@francescodiamondmacelini4935]

Gustafson on his second fight at HW ,while Jon Jones busy on Twitter

[@joeylovegrove1068]

I wanna see gus vs volk the battle of the Alexander's

[@benjaminrichard7741]

Gustafson is going to go places in the heavyweight division!

[@plynwow]

As a long time fan of Gus - this heavyweight idea is not good for him. The speed & power he has is applicable to 205 & under, not heavyweight.

[@leeortiz2687]

Uncle Chael with a great video today

[@KeiOfficeNyox]

Gus vs Jon - Heavyweight 😭🤩 who knows.

[@NatiHighLife]

loveto watch both these dudes

[@DrakirEdnil]

I hate these news. I loved last fall when I saw Gus was about to go back to LHW to fight Craig. I get the feeling the only reason he goes to heavyweight is because he doesn't have the motivation to cut weight. Sure, he got the height, but he is not ''bulky'' built. Rothwell is f-ing massive. Damn, this hurts me. I'm the biggest Gus fan and hate to see him get beaten up...but, win or lose, LHW or HW, we are behind you! War Alex!

[@marleymoos]

Joe Rogan needs to have the "Brendan Schaub" talk with Gus. I love Gus but what are we doing here? He got one foot in and one foot out and he moves up to heavy? What to fight Francis, Cyril, or Stipe? Don't encourage him Chael, I don't want to see Derrick Lewis hurt that man.

[@ashackatak]

Gus hasn’t taken the damage Brendan took. Brendan’s chin disappeared. Gus was subbed in his last losses. Yeah Jones rung his bell, but Brendan took some serious damage…

[@marleymoos]

@@ashackatak Can't argue with you there. Gus is so exciting because of his chin, he is a savage, BUT, he couldn't get by Cormier or Jones at light heavy. Now he wants to bang with heavies? HMM I don't know

[@TheCaliRhino]

I love Gus, I’m a Swede & think his chin is suspect at HW.

[@vision7694]

Im so glad he is back big fan

[@Jacob-hv6rn]

We love alexander gustafsson

[@D3Claw]

He does have Chimaev as a training partner too which I think will help out

[@blax52vet]

Gustaffson got to heavyweight quicker than Jom Jones got under the ring when USADA came looking to give home a drug test. Sheesh

[@favazmusthafa]

Gus vs jones in heavy weight for the title if gus makes it there would be legendary

[@forexmagician]

I don’t understand why he doesn’t return to LHW, that weight class is not so strong anymore

[@REVOisMYname]

Ouch no easy rides for Gustafson, they give him the greatest submission grappler and former champ then a gigantic well rounded monster hitter with a zombie chin

[@robertocuevas3848]

Cheal make a video about zabit vs makhachev in sambo match video please

[@TheCityBeneathMusic]

He keeps talking about "3 pieces" & I'm over here waiting for ol' Chael to mention the 🥤👀

[@fightingwords8955]

6:50 Can he get a soda with that 😁

[@grantheskey5704]

I'd like to see him go back down to light heavyweight, most the guys who best him are gone haha

[@MartyMcDonnald]

"Gufstasson" Chael and the names... hahahah

[@hiren8325]

😂😂

[@Therealdrewdober]

I see Gus going out on his shield and retiring he isn’t the same fighter he used to be.

[@Hats502]

Imagine if Gus competes at heavyweight earlier than Jones, who’s been talking about fighting there for over a year now

[@marcofantesini5058]

Gus already fought at hw against werdum and got submitted in 1 minute

[@geoffsullivan7902]

News on Tuesday- fun 🤩❤️ Jon Jones if Gus wins? Hmmm

[@caspar_gomez]

I love it but I don't get his eagerness to go HW

[@j.m9555]

Gustafsson should go back down to light heavyweight and try to take the that belt, considering that the champ there is a guy he knocked out cold a few years ago.

[@seanwallace89]

Chael, when you were fighting... what would you have said to an MMA pundit who was requiring three things from you to satisfy their needs for interest? Think on that...

[@floridalife11]

Chael u the man

[@mixwing8721]

Iam happy he is coming back but big ben is no joke

[@mitch8710]

Chael you should do a fight for Eagle FC. Suga (from fruit) Rashad Evans? Btw I think you’re both great and have done amazing things for the sport.

[@k.schmidt8958]

Fruitsuga Evans! Good one

[@mitch8710]

@@k.schmidt8958 😂 right on. Two badass dudes.

[@Freeez]

i still think gus could go down to 205, and beat whoever is the champion and take the title for himself.

[@JohnSmith-yd5wq]

Gus is a great fighter

[@jccuchvjvj]

Guss could just drop to LH and take the belt now. No Anthony Johnson there , no Jon

[@callumthorsen5474]

Wouldn't it be great if gus and Jones fought at HW and gus got the nod 😁

[@rukus9585]

Gustaffson is that eternal number 2 guy. And there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. Most would give almost anything to be that.

[@Alvaro-qz6qk]

I hope he hasn't bulked up on chips and pringles like Darren Till

[@kyledavis7292]

I'm really excited

[@GeneTickles]

Finally some new names to talk about.

[@collinbreeden7472]

Gus walks around at 240-245 if he wants to compete as a heavyweight he can make the adjustments

[@banksta3]

Werdum can beat anyone on any given night, I thought that was a horrible matchup. That being said, Rothwell can beat most guys on any given night lol.

[@bingle12765]

Jones vs gus 3 at heavyweight!

[@TomTom-rh5gk]

Every fight with Gustafsson is razor thin and every fight he loses. Anyone is like 0 and 10 in his last ten fights should retire.

[@stevenmurray8297]

A Welcome Return

[@Ultr4l0f]

Gus COULD have been great. I think the injuries hurt him more than we think. I mean even before he retired he had aboit the same amount of fights as Jones. And Jones had had like 12 suspensions during the same time

[@getintothewildwithjeffruma8777]

I like Gus but when he gets beat down by Ben he needs to go back down to 205lbs. Sorry but you are wrong on this one Chael.

[@nicholasdonin1465]

Pull a slot machine lever but instead of icons, it's fighters. I would've never in a million years guessed this was a fight that would exist 😂

[@andreaspersson8884]

love u chael

[@Nestor-mz5lr]

Why would he be better of at HW rather than LHW? He already beat the current champion at LHW AND the number one contender (if it´s still Jan).

[@jhoward_06]

Gus throws the best uppercuts in MMA. ie check the GLOVER VS GUS fight. that was prime Gus

[@marveen6372]

Gustafson isn’t unlucky cause in the beginning of his career Phil Davis choked him out

[@nathanchristman6660]

ngl i didn't know big ben was still active let alone in the ufc.

[@guywilliams6569]

Shouldn't the biggest question be does he want to keep losing? Because he's been losing a lot

[@mitchellbaenz]

Dang