Alexander Gustafsson shocked the mixed martial arts world earlier today when he announced his retirement from the sport.

Gustafsson’s surprising announcement came shortly following his fourth round submission loss to Anthony Smith in the main event of UFC Stockholm.

“What can I say… The show is over guys.” Alexander Gustafsson said while putting down his gloves and proceeding to walk out of the octagon.

The loss marked the Swede’s second in a row, as he was previously defeated by Jon Jones at UFC 232 via third round knockout.

Despite his obvious ability to still compete at a high level, Alexander Gustafsson explained his decision to retire in a post-fight interview with ESPN.

"It feels like I don't have it in me anymore."@AlexTheMauler explains his retirement to @BrendanFitzTV and @danhardymma on the #UFCStockholm ESPN+ post-show pic.twitter.com/PHFg6hOEc1

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) June 1, 2019

“Now because… it feels like I don’t have in me anymore to be honest. It feels like I do mistakes I shouldn’t do. I just feel like, I just have the feeling like it is the time now. I don’t want to be a journeyman, I don’t want to do this because I am getting paid. I just want to do this because I love it and I want to be at the top.” – Alexander Gustafsson

‘The Mauler’ will undoubtedly go down as one of the greatest light heavyweight fighters of all time.

During his illustrious career, Alexander Gustafsson scored notable wins over James Te Huna, Matt Hamill, Vladimir Matyushenko, Thiago Silva, Shogun Rua, Jimi Manuawa, Jan Blachowicz and Glover Teixeira.

Gustafsson challenged for the UFC light heavyweight title on three separate occasions, but ultimately came up short in those contests with Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier respectively.

What do you think will be the next step in the life of former UFC title challenger Alexander Gustafsson? Sound off in the comments section of this article PENN Nation!

This article first appeared on BJPENN.com June 1, 2019