Less than two weeks after his impressive performance at UFC 165, light heavyweight Alexander Gustafsson said he’ll conduct future training camps in his native Sweden. Gustafsson, who lost a close decision to champion Jon Jones at the Sept. 21 pay-per-view event, told Swedish tabloid Aftonbladet that his fight schedule is too demanding to train at San Diego’s Alliance MMA, where he frequently finished preparations.

“Now I’m in that stage of my career that I will compete three or four times a year, so I can not hold on and go off all the time,” Gustafsson told Aftonbladet. “It costs too much and it takes too much time away from my family. It’s simply not worth it.”

When contacted for comment, Alliance head trainer Eric Del Fierro told MMAjunkie.com he was surprised by Gustafsson’s decision, but said the fighter previously has conducted full camps in his native country.

“I think the camp for Mousasi he did in Sweden, so we’ve been in communication in camp there,” Del Fierro said. “I can’t say what the plan is for the next camp, because I don’t know.”

Gustafsson sought out Del Fierro following a submission loss to Phil Davis at UFC 112 and traveled to San Diego to join the Alliance camp, where Davis and a bevy of other top fighters train.

The sudden shift might indicate that Gustafsson was unhappy with his work at the gym, but Del Fierro said he took the move as a positive sign for the fighter.

“I don’t really make anything of it,” Del Fierro said. “The kid’s growing as an athlete in Sweden, and his ability to earn in Sweden is a lot bigger than it is in the U.S. His whole camp has progressed, and that’s great. They’ve got a lot of talent over there, and hopefully, he’s getting to a position where he doesn’t have to leave his family.”

After UFC 165, Gustafsson’s career is certainly looking up. Counted out by most MMA observers as an easy mark for Jones’ long reach and unpredictable attack, he gave the champ all he could handle over five rounds and won generous praise from UFC President Dana White.

It’s unclear at the moment what’s next for Gustafsson (15-2 MMA, 7-2 UFC) in the cage. This past month, White made a surprise announcement that the UFC would promote a fight between Jones (19-1 MMA, 13-1 UFC) and No. 1 contender Glover Teixeira (22-2 MMA, 5-0 UFC) instead of an immediate rematch between the champ and the Swedish fighter.

Whatever is on the horizon, Gustafsson said he’s as well prepared as ever. He told Aftonbladet that unlike his earlier career, he can now fly sparring partners overseas to Sweden. But it appears one partner might not be making the trip: Davis.

“We do not train with each other as much anymore,” Gustafsson said.

Del Fierro offered an explanation for the pair’s diminished time together. He said an injury to Davis prevented him from training with Gustafsson for UFC 165. He said that when healthy, the two had no problems working together.

“They didn’t avoid each other for a specific reason,” Del Fierro said.

It appears, however, that Gustafsson anticipates a scenario that certainly would keep them apart.

“We belong to both the top, and that’s not a difficult guess that we’ll meet again soon,” he said. “It’s not a dream opponent because we are friends, but (if) UFC decides that we should meet … it feels better to not train together right now.”