Wanderlei Silva (L) and Brian Stann (R) staredown at the UFC on FUEL TV 8 weigh-ins – Image via Facebook.com/UFC
Former PRIDE star Wanderlei ‘The Axe Murderer’ Silva had fans on the edge of their seats at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan in his UFC on FUEL TV 8 main event bout with Brian Stann.
His performance earned him the “Fight of the Night” and “Knockout of the Night” bonus for the television event walking away with an extra $100,000 in bonuses.
Also earning an extra $50,000 was Stann for “Fight of the Night” and to co-main event heavyweight Mark Hunt for “Knockout of the Night.” With no submissions taking place on the card no “Submission of the Night” bonus was handed out.
UFC president Dana White announced the “Fight Night” winners on Twitter (@danawhite) following the live event.
– FON=Wandy vs Stann KO= Wandy and Hunt!!!! Both win 50k
Silva and Stann stole the show after throwing caution to the wind in the first round of their bout. Both men came out swinging with knockdowns by both fighters. An errant kick to the groin of Silva caused a short stoppage but simply allowed both fighters a chance to catch their breaths and resume where they left off. Into the second and both fighters began to slow down looking to pick their shots rather than throwing punches with abandon. As many expected, things would come to an end as Silva would land a combination with a clipping right followed by a big left hand sending Stann to the mat. ‘The Axe Murderer’ would follow up with a few more punches knocking Stann out at 4:08 of the round.
The co-main event saw heavyweights Hunt and Struve square off in a size mismatch with the ‘Skyscraper’ standing a foot taller than the ‘Super Samoan.’ The first round saw both men trying to find their range and a successful takedown by Struve. This is where many thought Struve would take the fight as the Dutch fighter would attempt to secure a submission but Hunt looked impressive by fighting off the attacks. Hunt found himself in full mount in both the first and second rounds, with shots reigning down from Struve and would manage to escape. Into the third round, it was very visible that both men were tired with hands down and mouths open. The two would trade a few punches and it would be Hunt who would land a couple of looping punches landing a stunner from his right hand which was followed by a huge left hook which sent Struve to the mat. Without waiting to see the results of the punch Hunt simply turned and walked away. Referee Herb Dean told Struve to keep fighting but the ‘Skyscraper’ wasn’t able to continue because of a broken jaw. The end came at 1:44 of the second round.