Gustafsson and Mousasi are the future of UFC's light heavyweight

Alexander Gustafsson and Gegard Mousasi may be unknowns to the casual UFC fan but, to hardcore fans, they are the real deal, and on April 7th we will see the future of the light heavyweight division.

Gustafsson is 26 years old and fights out of Stockholm, Sweden. He’s defeated a bona fide legend of MMA in Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua and notables such as Vlad Matyushenko, Matt Hamill and Thiago Silva.

Some of you may look at that list and say “he beat some has-beens,” but in that list he’s defeated an NCAA division 3 national wrestling champion, a world class kick-boxer and a black belt Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) fighter.

Gustafsson is a former amateur national boxing champion and holds a purple belt in BJJ. Standing a whisker under 2m tall, he has the range and the abilities to dictate where the fight takes place.

This in itself might hold the key to victory.

Lining up on the other side of the cage, in his debut UFC fight, is Gegard Mousasi.

This does not mean he isn’t quality – in fact he holds a black belt in Judo, made popular by Karo Parisian and more recently Hector Lombard.

He has devastating knockout power and a highlight reel to match – search ‘Gegard Mousasi Highlights’ and get some popcorn.

Mousasi has fought for a who’s who of MMA promotions, including Pride, Dream, Strikeforce and K-1 and holds a 33-3 record in MMA. The record is made all the more impressive when you note he is only 27 years old.

Having defeated Sokoudijou, Mark Hunt, Gary Goodridge and a young Hector Lombard, his resume is long and impressive.

He hasn’t faced elite competition mainly due to the promotions he’s fought for, and this is his chance to impress the world.

This fight will give us a good idea of where both fighters stand in the division. I predict Jon ‘Bones’ Jones will have another 2-3 title defences and will move up to heavyweight to contend for that title, given he has to cut more and more weight as his body matures.

With Dan Henderson losing to Lyoto Machida recently, the title picture is wide open. Machida may be the number one contender at this stage, however I can’t see him touching Jon Jones, should a rematch be given.

With Henderson, Vitor Belfort and Rua not getting any younger and Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson leaving the UFC, this leaves the division wide open for these two fighters, along with James Te-Huna and Glover Texeria, to grab the opportunity with both hands and start creating a legacy.

What say you MMA fans, who will leave victorious?