President of Swedish MMA Federation expects Gustafsson injury mystery to be solved Tuesday

The ongoing mystery surrounding Alexander Gustafsson’s injury may finally be solved on Tuesday.

MMAFighting.com spoke to George Sallfeldt, the president of the Swedish MMA Federation, Tuesday morning, and he was hopeful the situatio…

by Staff

April 3, 2013

The ongoing mystery surrounding Alexander Gustafsson’s injury may finally be solved on Tuesday.

MMAFighting.com spoke to George Sallfeldt, the president of the Swedish MMA Federation, Tuesday morning, and he was hopeful the situation would be cleared by the end of the working day in Sweden.

Sallfeldt noted that the SMMAF was first informed of the cut on March 30. He confirmed that three doctors examined the cut, which was was reportedly suffered in training, shortly thereafter and all three came to the same conclusion.

“They felt it would be very unlikely that he would be medically cleared,” he said. “However, they don’t have a mandate to stop the fight.”

But Sallfedlt said Gustafsson is scheduled to meet with doctors on Tuesday in Sweden who do have the power to call off the fight, if necessary.

Typically, the SMMAF’s doctors examine fighters at the weigh-ins, however, Sallfedlt said that given the importance of Saturday night’s Gustafsson vs. Gegard Mousasi UFC on FUEL TV 9 main event and all the speculation surrounding it, the SMMAF felt it was best to examine Gustafsson on Tuesday. They waited until Tuesday because Monday was a national holiday in Sweden.

If Gustafsson passes the medical test on Tuesday, Sallfedlt believed “The Mauler” would be all but cleared to fight Mousasi on Saturday night in Stockholm, Sweden.

“If the medical committee feels there is a sufficient information to make a decision, I’m sure they will,” he said. “They understand that having this hang in the air until Friday is not ideal, so that is why they are working on him now.

“It’s not my place to speculate on these issues. It’s not my job. I will wait and hear what [the doctors] say.”

When pressed multiple times about the likelihood of the fight being called off at the eleventh hour, Sallfedlt refused to give a definitive answer since he had yet to talk to the SMMAF’s medical committee. It’s all up to the doctors’ checkup on Tuesday, he said.

“I personally feel that it would be unlikely that the medical committee would let this wait until Friday,” he said. “That’s just my personal opinion. That would surprise me.

“I hope that they would be clear by the end of [Tuesday].”

MMAFighting.com spoke to Sallfeldt Tuesday morning at approximately 10:30 a.m. ET. At that time, he said he expected the medical committee to inform him of their decision within the next three to four hours.

And just like everyone else, Mousasi, who is scheduled to arrive in Sweden on Tuesday, and his camp are in the dark, as well.

“We are waiting for information,” Mousasi’s co-manager Lex McMahon said. “Our position is Gegard is ready to fight, he just needs an opponent. He’ll fight Gustafsson, Vitor, Wanderlei, Thor, Odin, it just doesn’t matter. Gegard is the baddest man in Stockholm and he’s ready for a fight.”