The UFC finally returns this weekend, and the UFC on Fuel 2 card is set to get us back in fight mode before next Saturday’s UFC 145 super fight between Jon Jones and Rashad Evans.
While the Fuel card isn’t as stacked with big names as previous free TV fights this year, it still features a ton of talent, including an intriguing co-main event between Brian Stann and Alessio Sakara.
These two middleweight sluggers both have serious knockout power in their hands and have reputations as finishers, which makes these two a stand up war waiting to happen.
It’s doubtful that either one of these guys is going to try and take the fight to the ground, and with the power these two possess, it’s almost guaranteed that this one won’t go to decision.
While Stann is the favorite in this fight, and deservedly so after taking out Chris Leben and Jorge Santiago last year, Sakara has the tools to end this fight with one big punch.
Sakara has had a rocky UFC career, debuting in 2005 and posting a 6-5-1 record since, but his problem has always been his inability to take out high-level grapplers or take a solid shot, the latter of which Stann can exploit in an instant.
The smart pick in this fight is Stann, who has only been stopped by punches once in his MMA career. He should be able to out strike Sakara and score an eventual knockout, but the win will have been expected and won’t do much to raise his stock in the middleweight division.
A win for Sakara, on the other hand, will earn him the biggest victory of his career and will propel him into the upper half of the middleweight division.
This fight seems to be a mismatch on paper, which is actually what makes this such a good fight for Sakara.
Sakara has absolutely nothing to lose in this fight. His job is likely secure even with a loss, and he is generally expected to lose. But if he goes out and pulls out a win it will catapult his career.
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