The UFC’s return to Sweden is experiencing a major bump in the road. Alexander Gustafsson was scheduled to compete against Gegard Mousasi in the main event, but a facial cut has jeopardized the fight. Mass confusion ensued over whether or not Gustafsson was still going to compete. Wanderlei Silva muddled the situation even more with his claim that he was going to replace Gustafsson, only to say it was an April Fool’s prank. MMA Fighting spoke to George Sallfeldt, president of the Swedish MMA Federation, about Gustafsson’s status:
Sallfedlt said Gustafsson is scheduled to meet with doctors on Tuesday in Sweden who do have the power to call off the fight, if necessary.
Typically, the SMMAF’s doctors examine fighters at the weigh-ins, however, Sallfedlt said that given the importance of Saturday night’s Gustafsson vs. Gegard Mousasi UFC on FUEL TV 9 main event and all the speculation surrounding it, the SMMAF felt it was best to examine Gustafsson on Tuesday.
If Gustafsson passes the medical test on Tuesday, Sallfedlt believed “The Mauler” would be all but cleared to fight Mousasi on Saturday night in Stockholm, Sweden.
It’s late afternoon in Sweden (at the time of this publish) so we should have an update for you in a few hours time. I’m pretty sure this one can’t be filed as an April Fool’s Day prank.