(Hopefully this one goes the distance for the fans.)
According to a report by Swedish MMA site MMANYTT.se, a welterweight clash between Golden Glory standout Siyar Bahadurzada and Paulo Thiago has been added to Zuffa’s first Swedish event, UFC on Fuel 2 April 14 at Ericsson Globe Arena in Stockholm.
The bout will mark the Octagon debut if “Siyar the Great,” who was forced to pull out of a planned fight Erick Silva at UFC 142 due to a training injury. The Afghan-born knockout artist is undefeated in his last six MMA bouts, including three in a row against Derrick Noble, John Alessio and Tommy Depret in the 2010 Glory MMA welterweight tournament, which he won.
After signing a four-fight deal with Strikeforce, Bahadurzada failed to secure a visa and did not fight for the promotion as a result. Both sides decided it was in both of their best interest to end their relationship, thus opening Siyar to sign with the UFC.
What’s interesting is that his only two stoppage losses have come by decision — one to Jorge Santiago and the other to Kazuo Misaki. Thiago, a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu finished Mike Swick via D’Arce choke in 2010, meaning if the fight hits the mat, Bahadurzada, who has spent much of the last year training at Mark Munoz’s “Reign Training Center” could be in trouble if his submission and takedown defense hasn’t improved.
Thiago, whose most notable wins are the the submission win over Swick and the KO of his American Kickboxing Academy teammate Josh Koscheck, recovered from a two-fight slide with a decision win over David Mitchell at UFC 134 in August. Prior to the win, Thiago dropped back-to-back decisions to Martin Kampmann and Diego Sanchez at UFC 115 and UFC 121, respectively. He was slated to fight Mike Pyle at UFC 142, but was also forced off the card due to injury.
UFC on FUEL TV 2
Saturday April 14, 2012
3:00 pm ET on FUEL TV
Ericsson Globe Arena in Stockholm, Sweden
Alessio Sakara vs. Brian Stann
Alexander Gustufsson vs. TBA
Siyar Bahadurzada vs. Paulo Thiago
Cyrille Diabate vs. Jorgen Kruth
Papy Abedi vs. James Head
DaMarques Johnson vs. John Maguire
Francis Carmont vs. Magnus Cedenblad
Besam Yousef vs. Simeon Thoresen