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Thiago Silva lacks sportsmanship - Gustafsson

Thiago Silva gave a beating to Brandon Vera at UFC 125 © Getty Images

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Alexander Gustafsson has added some needle to this weekend's UFC on Fuel 2 main event in Sweden, stating that light-heavyweight rival Thiago Silva "lacks respect" for his fellow fighters.

Gustafsson is the Team Alliance colleague of Brandon Vera, who was on the receiving end from Silva at UFC 125. Dominated for three rounds, Vera had to suffer the ignominy of being mocked by the Brazilian as the clock ticked down.

A post-fight drug test later revealed that Silva had used a urine adulterant in order to hide the fact he had used banned substances to aid a back problem. As a result, he was banned from the sport for a year.

He makes his competitive return against Gustafsson, who will look to exact revenge for Vera. And in Gustafsson's eyes, there is extra spice to Saturday's battle.

"He's a great fighter but he's not a good sportsman," Gustafsson told MMA Mania. "He's lacking in respect in his fights and it just makes me more motivated to fight him.

"He's a very entertaining fighter too, so it's gonna be a good fight for the fans. I'm a professional and I stick to my game. He will probably [try to unsettle me] too so I'm prepared for it. It's not going to affect me at all."

Shedding light on how he sees the fight going Gustafsson, who has vicious hands, predicts he will use his extra reach to give Silva a hard night.

"I would say I'm much better at technical striking than he is but you know, he's got some good power and you can't underestimate him. You have to stay away from it and keep my guard up," the Swede explained.

"I like to use my range and that's one of my strengths and a tactic I try to use in every fight. I will definitely be using it against him."

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