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Alexander Gustafsson: 'I was really close to quitting' after KO loss to Anthony Johnson

Alexander Gustafsson: 'I was really close to quitting' after KO loss to Anthony Johnson

Fans tend to focus on the winning side of mixed martial arts while the pain and suffering of the defeated is all too often forgotten about.

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UFC light heavyweight contender Alexander Gustafsson recently spoke to Expressen.se about his shocking first-round knockout loss to Anthony Johnson in his hometown of Stockholm, Sweden, back in January. After having a few weeks to digest the devastating setback, Gustafsson made a shocking revelation: he almost quit the sport at 28.

“It has definitely been my most difficult period in life so far,” Gustafsson said. “I thought about it. I was really close to quitting.”

It is rare to hear a fighter speak so candidly about his ongoing career swings just a few months removed from the event itself. The loss felt by Gustafsson was compounded by the fact that he was surrounded by friends and family, undoubtedly making the knockout that much more difficult to overcome.

“I do not care really [about] the title," Gustafsson said. "It was that it happened in front of my home crowd -- my cousins' cousins were in the place.”

“The Mauler” is coming off a two-week vacation and has a new opponent waiting in the shadows -- Brazilian bomber Glover Teixeira on June 20 in Germany. The scheduled matchup between two of the light heavyweight divison’s most dangerous contenders has Gustafsson primed for redemption.

“I did not show my potential,” he said. “It went too fast. So, it feels good to get another chance. I know I can be the best in the world and I intend to show [that].”

And anyone questioning Gustafsson’s motivation after his recent admission better pump their breaks, because the UFC’s No. 2 light heavyweight contender still has his eyes set on a rematch with divisional kingpin Jon Jones in the near future.

“I have a new [gameplan] that made me very motivated,” he said. “If I had not wanted to do this anymore, I [would have] stopped. But I want to continue. There is no doubt about it. No one is forcing me. I'm not doing this for money, but to be the best in the world.