How good would have been Gustafsson chances if he had an immediate rematch against Antonny Johnson?

[DanDragon Machi]

In my opinion they are the #3 and #4 best fighters of LHW history but I don't think their fight defined which of the two is the best

Do you think that first fight just was a bad Gus night and with a more appropriate strategy he would have won? Or that was a mismatch form him and he would have got KO eight out of ten times they faced each other?
I'm pretty sure if you ask to DC which of them is the best fighter he will choice Gustafsson (split decision x two subs in dominat victories). I have a impression that Rumble was a tougher fighter to most fighters but I don't see him giving such a war for prime Jones as Gustafsson gave

 

['Suga Daddy']

In my opinion they are the #3 and #4 best fighters of LHW history but I don't think their fight defined which of the two is the best

Do you think that first fight just was a bad Gus night and with a more appropriate strategy he would have won? Or that was a mismatch form him and he would have got KO eight out of ten times they faced each other?
I'm pretty sure if you ask to DC which of them is the best fighter he will choice Gustafsson (split decision x two subs in dominat victories). I have a impression that Rumble was a tougher fighter to most fighters but I don't see him giving such a war for prime Jones as Gustafsson gave

I think #3 and #4 is a bit of a stretch but I can see your argument. Rumble would beat Gus again, he's an absolute nightmare matchup for the boxing heavy style. If Gus had a bit more offensive wrestling rather than pulling it out the back pocket every so often I'd probably think differently.

 

[tequilaboy]

I think he would have had more chances with an immediate Jones rematch

 

[Thepaintbucket]

What would be his plan in a rematch? Rumble also steamrolled Glover, Phil Davis and Bader who all had respectable ground games. I.dont think you wanna stand and trade punches with rumble, esp when you are looking to out point him.

You can't let a guy like Rumble tee off on you with little fear

 

[Steve Fox]

I think he would have had more chances with an immediate Jones rematch

Idk, Jones would literally apply a heavy wrestling gameplan and not be a dufus.

 

[Bubzeh]

What a random thread for a Friday afternoon.

Big AJ fan checking in. I think he would have beaten Gus 9 times out of 10 back in their day.

 

[Tweak896]

People acted like Gus got caught, but to me it seems like Rumble's pressure got to him. He was beating him in his own country, you couldn't get much better odds for that. I'd bet Rumble wins almost everytime.

 

[DanDragon Machi]

What a random thread for a Friday afternoon.

Big AJ fan checking in. I think he would have beaten Gus 9 times out of 10 back in their day.

Big Gus fan here but unfortunately I agree. It would be much more likely for him to beat DC if he had fought other times.

 

[Mike]

I think it's just a bad matchup for him. Gus was relatively hittable and that's just death vs Rumble. In a five round fight contested mainly on the feet, I think AJ finds that finish more often than not.

 

[Matt Brown's Elbow]

He got walked down and slaughtered. A rematch would share the same result. Facts.

 

[Unheralded Truth]

I've always been high on Gustafsson, they way he mixed long range fighting with just not giving a fuck and wanting to maul. Also underrated on the ground.

This is one of those examples of "styles make fights" though. Other elite fighters would have it easier breaking Rumble's will, making him look one-dimensional etc.

And yet, as a big Gus fan I say this, I suspect Rumble has the perfect style to be victorious in fights between them. Gus can't rely on the chin and grit like he was used
to against Shogun, Jones, Manuwa, DC, Blachowicz etc. Rumble was too powerful and urgent.

 

[Deleted member 504083]

seems like Gus should try to implement a wrestle heavy game plan like he did against Jan. Rumble was very hard to take down, but Gus took down Jones and DC, so who knows

If the fight stays standing for long, he just has to hope not to get caught so early and hope Rumble gasses and quits

 

[jeff7b9]

Rumble hit that man so hard it spun Gus' head around to give him a clear view of his own ass.

Gus didn't need to take that whoopin twice.

 

[TriangleMonkey]

Rumble’s wrestling past gave all these guys problems

 

[Necrocrawler]

What would be his plan in a rematch? Rumble also steamrolled Glover, Phil Davis and Bader who all had respectable ground games. I.dont think you wanna stand and trade punches with rumble, esp when you are looking to out point him.

You can't let a guy like Rumble tee off on you with little fear

tbh, i think rumble made glover the champion.
After that loss, glover kinda abandoned his weird boxing style and started to use his wrestling approach more (I'm not saying he didn't used it, just saying he focused solely on it though).

 

[nonoob]

What would be his plan in a rematch? Rumble also steamrolled Glover, Phil Davis and Bader who all had respectable ground games. I.dont think you wanna stand and trade punches with rumble, esp when you are looking to out point him.

You can't let a guy like Rumble tee off on you with little fear

Good point. Anyone who'd let Rumble tee off on them with little fear when trading punches had to have an even smaller brain.

RIP Rumble.​

 

[sonhow]

I think Gus could have won. He could have won by dragging Rumble to deep waters

 

[Bend NvR Break]

Another 1st round KO loss. Rumble, a more powerful and faster striker, will always be a bad match up for Gus's volume heavy boxing approach.

 

[Colemanstove]

He could have won if he fought him how he fought Jan.

 

[Bend NvR Break]

seems like Gus should try to implement a wrestle heavy game plan like he did against Jan. Rumble was very hard to take down, but Gus took down Jones and DC, so who knows

If the fight stays standing for long, he just has to hope not to get caught so early and hope Rumble gasses and quits

Gus took down DC and Jon because DC and Jon weren't expecting Gus to go for a TD.
Rumble literally out wrestled DC for a round in their rematch.
He takes down Rumble and there's a solid change he gets reversed and Rumble ends up on top smashing Gus to bits.

Gus's best chance for victory is to fight extremely long and don't rely on his chin for defense like he usually does. Hopefully can tire out Rumble but most likely he gets caught at some point.