On a night that was short on big winners, former WEC Light Heavyweight Champion Brian Stann was one of the biggest winners at UFC 130.
With his knockout win over Sengoku veteran Jorge Santiago, Stann is now 3-0 at middleweight, with all three wins coming by stoppage. With his penchant for finishing fights and his compelling personal story, the “All-American” is looking more and more like the UFC’s next star at 185 pounds.
Since moving to 185 in August, Stann has produced two Fight of the Night performances and a thunderous knockout of Chris Leben at UFC 125. He’s got the discipline that one expects from Greg Jackson-trained fighters, but he’s also become a reliable source of stand-up fireworks. Couple that with the way he presents himself and connects with the fans – Wanderlei Silva spoke of not wanting to be booed as part of his motivation for turning down a fight with Stann – and the former Marine officer has just about everything the UFC could want in a fighter.
Stann still has yet to make the case that he’s a viable contender to Anderson Silva and the UFC Middleweight Championship – a strong wrestling base seems to be the most effective weapon against “The Spider” and Stann doesn’t come from that background – but at the same time, Silva hasn’t fought anyone from the Jackson camp since he faced Nate Marquardt at UFC 73, and the discipline of Jackson-trained fighters has been getting better and better, to say nothing of the influence of Stann’s military background on his approach in the cage.
Of course, it’ll take a couple more wins before Stann can be considered for a title shot, but after dispatching Santiago, it’s hard to see him not getting those victories. For now, he’s moving right along.