Former UFC light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans is gearing up for an early-2015 return to the octagon, and he already has an opponent in mind.
Evans (19-3-1 MMA, 14-3-1 UFC) is gunning for a fight of significance at 205 pounds, and few names currently carry more weight in the division than Alexander Gustafsson (16-2 MMA, 8-2 UFC).
Gustafsson originally was scheduled to challenge light heavyweight kingpin Jon Jones for the belt at UFC 178 this past weekend. However, “The Mauler” suffered a knee injury in training and was replaced by Daniel Cormier.
Not long after the replacement fight was made, though, Jones suffered a knee injury of his own. He required surgery to fix the damage, postponing the matchup with Cormier until UFC 182 on Jan. 3.
Despite the postponement, UFC officials decided to stick with the Jones-Cormier matchup, which left Gustafsson as the odd man out of the title picture.
The Swede apparently was lined for a No. 1 contender showdown with Anthony Johnson in December, but “Rumble” was pulled from the contest due to an indefinite suspension that currently has his career on ice.
Whether or not Gustafsson will receive a new opponent or wait for the Jones-Cormier winner remains to be seen. If he’s booked for a fight, though, Evans wants to be the one on the other side of the octagon.
“I’ve been very impressed with how his development has gone,” Evans said on FOX Sports 1’s post-UFC 178 show. “I would definitely like to fight him when I return. Definitely.”
Injuries have kept “Suga” out of action since he stopped Chael Sonnen in the first round at UFC 167 in November 2013. “The Ultimate Fighter 2? winner said he’s nearing 100 percent, though, and wants to prove he is still one of the top competitors in his weight class.
If all goes according to plan, Evans will grace the octagon sometime in the first quarter of 2015. That will mean more than a year between fights, and while Evans has fallen out of the forefront of the title picture, the 35-year-old said he wants to prove he’s still a relevant factor in the light heavyweight division.
A victory over an opponent of Gustafsson’s stature would potentially put Evans in line for that opportunity.
“When I left, I was at the top and Alexander Gustafsson has been getting better with every single fight,” Evans said. “Dana (White), set it up.”
http://mmajunkie.com/2014/09/former-champ-rashad-evans-definitely-wants-alexander-gustafsson-in-next-ufc-bout
I'm down for this 
Rashad's gonna get KO'd
Sure why not 
Lick Boners - Rashad's gonna get KO'dLol no.
Rashad gunna beat dat assss
Be a good Guage to see where he is at, he's getting up there in years right?
Gus will starch him.
lol, everyone wants gustaffson these days
falsecrack -Because he can't beat Jones
lol, everyone wants gustaffson these days
What happened to the AJ match? Rumble vs Gus is what we wanted to see. Not this bs matchup with Rashad who has seen better days and will no doubt have ring rust. I will cheer for Rashad to pull off the upset anyways just because of the shenanigans UFC is trying to pull in getting rid of one of the top threats in the division. A DV accusation proven false and you guys still want to remove perhaps the most exciting guy currently in the LHW division? WTF? I hate the social media and the PC crowd with a passion.
KnockoutThoughts - What happened to the AJ match? Rumble vs Gus is what we wanted to see. Not this bs matchup with Rashad who has seen better days and will no doubt have ring rust. I will cheer for Rashad to pull off the upset anyways just because of the shenanigans UFC is trying to pull in getting rid of one of the top threats in the division. A DV accusation proven false and you guys still want to remove perhaps the most exciting guy currently in the LHW division? WTF? I hate the social media and the PC crowd with a passion.
AJ is suspended indefinitely pending his domestic violence charges or whatever the fuck was going on there. So that fight is definitely put on hold.
I'm down with Gus vs. Rashad. I really just want to see Gus fight rather than sit out forever waiting for his title shot. Jones had no problem outstriking Rashad in their fight. So as long as Gus can stuff the TD's he should be able to do the same, this is a safer fight for him than Rumble, that's for sure.
Bad matchup for Rashad. A volume striker with a better reach and good takedown defense wins this fight imo.
He better come with a better strategy than he did in the Jones fight. The reach was giving him a hard time the majority of the fight.
Good match.
Great fight imo
Galanis -
I'd rather they just do Gus vs the DC/Jones winner. It really sucks that after all the hype and demand after Jones/Gus 1, the UFC dropped the ball and didn't cash in on the rematch. We may never even seen it. I thought Jones won the fight clearly 3 rounds to 2, but I feel like Gus is the most compelling challenger after DC, and I think they'd have another classic battle.
I don't want to see Rashad fight Jones again, he was wiped out the first time. Rashad/DC would be interesting but I think DC is better than him at every part of his game.
There's no other fight I want to see more thn Jones/Gus 2. I was so diassapointed it didn't work out at ufc 178. The fact is though both guys are at the top of the divsion and both are still young so ths fight will definitely happen at some point. Maybe they thought with Cormier getting up there in age it was best to stick with him for now and then Gus can enter the picture after.
No thanks.
I hope he gets it but its bad match up for him. He better start working on his kicks
Would be a great fight