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Andreas Gustafsson exclusive: Big interview with Sweden’s newest UFC fighter
Andreas Gustafsson. Photo: Stefan Romare
Andreas “Bane” Gustafsson is the next Swede to sign with the UFC.
After an impressive performance at last week’s DWCS, the UFC CEO Dana White gave him a chance to compete at the biggest stage of MMA.
When Frontkick gets a hold of “Bane”, he’s heading towards Västerås to put his name on the precious four-fight UFC contract.
“It feels great,” Gustafsson says in an exclusive interview. “We will see when they will match me, but I hope to get a fight soon.”
The preparations for his career’s most important fight to date were gruesome, both physically and mentally, but ahead of his UFC debut Gustafsson feels way calmer.
“There were a lot of thoughts and tensions, like, ‘What will happen if I lose? Am I screwed then?’. I will be more relaxed in the UFC debut. I can be calmer now, but when I know who to face I will be ready to go!”
What do you look forward to the most as a UFC fighter?
“A little bit of everything. To face the toughest opponents in the world. To get a big platform and have all the eyes on you,” Gustafsson says. “My financial situation might change too. With more sponsors I might be able to live full time as a pro fighter. And a $50.000 post-fight bonus is like a normal Swedish year’s salary too.”
“I probably burn 5000 calories a day”
Combining a surging pro MMA career with a day time job is not an easy task.
Andreas Gustafsson, who’s inspecting the power grid for a living, has the benefit of being able to plan his work schedule to fit his training. However, he still walks around with 20 kilos of equipment for eight hours a day.
“It’s a great job to be honest. It’s hard work though. With the combination of work and training I probably burn 5000 calories a day,” Gustafsson laughs. “If I would ever become a millionaire in fighting I would still want to do this job when my MMA career is over. That’s how much I like my job.”
On the subject of calories, what weight division will you fight in?
“I will continue to fight at welterweight. I’m stronger and better there. At middleweight I was too small. I’m not really tall enough and I don’t have the weight. It worked okay being a middleweight in Europe, in promotions like KSW, FCR and Brave, but in UFC it won’t be the same.”
At 77 kilo (170 lbs), however, Gustafsson’s impressive physique comes to its full right. The power and stamina he possesses as a welterweight will work really well for him – especially with a sound weight cut.
“This time I was on a diet for two months and it worked perfectly. I was at 81 kilos in the morning of the weigh-ins and cut the last four kilos before hitting the scale. We followed the recovery program from the UFC and it worked out great. On fight day I had gained 9 kilos and was at 86 kilo (189,5 lbs). And I didn’t eat junk food, just meat and rice.”
Andreas Gustafsson. Photo: Stefan Romare
Andreas Gustafsson feels sorry for his opponent
This past Tuesday, Gustafsson pulled off a master class peformance at the Dana White’s Contender Seires. After a gruelling first round, where he executed his gameplan perfectly, against the best striker he ever faced, “Bane” literally smashed his opponents face in to win the UFC contract.
“I’ve got mixed emotions,” Gustafsson says about the state of his opponent after the fight. “Pytlik reminds me a lot of myself. He’s the kind of athlete I’m trying to be. Even in defeat he act like a gentleman. He fought just as hard as me to get where he is, and put on such a goddamn fight that his cranium broke. All respect to him. He’s got family and a full time job just like me. Same struggle.”
Did you talk to him after the fight?
“Yes, we talked over the phone when he was at the hospital. He’s been there for a couple of days. We talked, and he complimented me for my performance. A lot of mutual respect between us. You can find friendship even though it’s a brutal game. That’s the beauty of combat sports.”
Wants to bring UFC to Sweden
Many fighters have recently been vocal about bringing UFC back to Sweden after more than five years. As a new fighter in the promotion, Gustafsson would love to be a part of a card on his home soil.
“We have quite a lot of fighters in the UFC now. Josefine Knutsson, Felipe Lima, Guram Kutateladze, Bernardo Sopai, Volkan Oezdemir – we can fill a whole card ourselves! I think that’s promising for a future Swedish UFC card!”
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