Alexander Gustafsson may have failed for a third time to win the UFC’s light-heavyweight title last month, but his manager says “The Mauler” will secure the 205 belt eventually, even if it means beating Jon Jones.

Gustafsson faced Jones for a second time at UFC 232 on December 29th, and was stopped by the vaunted fighter in round three. In their first, 2013 encounter, Jones emerged with a unanimous decision win, but many believe Gustafsson provided him with his stiffest test to date in that bout.

Well, since UFC 232 went down, Gustafsson’s manager Nima Safapour issued a statement to MMA Junkie, and it included these comments about the Swedish star’s championship future:

“The plan is to come back stronger than ever,” he wrote. “The fight was the fight. We still believe 100 percent that Alex can beat Jones. Just depends on the day. Anyone can win depending on the circumstances of the fight. It was not our day, but we will come back and get the title in due time either from Jon or whoever else is holding the title at that time. Expect to see ‘The Mauler’ back in action soon.”

Sure, you wouldn’t expect Gustafsson’s manager to say otherwise, but, chances are the fighter and his team do truly believe he could beat Jones. What’s also interesting is Safapour’s comments about Gustafsson fighting again soon, which is in keeping with the latter calling out Corey Anderson for a March 17th bout. 

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