Source: MMA Junkie

Alexander Gustafsson will have his country on his back when he welcomes Thiago Silva back to the octagon at UFC on FUEL TV 2 from Stockholm, Sweden. The UFC and Gustafsson will be fighting in his hometown for the first time ever. Needless to say, there is a lot of pressure on the native son to perform. Gustafsson is sporting a 4 fight win streak and looks forward to facing a former light heavyweight contender in Silva. Silva took the fight on short notice after Antonio Rogerio Nogueira suffered an injury during training camp. He is returning from a one year suspension for testing positive for steroids after his post fight drug test revealed his urine was not even human. Silva later admitted to using the adulterant to mask the steroids in his body.

There are many people that feel Silva should not even be granted a main event fight in his first fight back from suspension but Gustafsson is not concerned with the politics of the sport–only that Silva is a serious threat. You could make the argument that Silva is a more serious threat than Lil Nog because he is more aggressive, Gustafsson agrees. Gustafsson rightly feels Silva is the biggest test he has faced to date although his loss to Phil Davis should also be considered. Gustafsson’s star is rising, some say similar to light heavyweight champion Jon Jones. Both will be 25 years old this year and share impressive victories over Vladimir Matyushenko as a sign they were legit contenders. If Gustafsson were to impressively beat Silva, he could have a legitimate claim to a title shot behind Dan Henderson. Who knows, with possibly another win under his belt, Gustaffson could be facing Jon Jones next year. But don’t ask him about Jones, he is only concerned about Thiago Silva this Saturday.