Tomorrow night marks the debut of the UFC in Sweden on an event that sold out faster than any MMA card in European history. In the main event, light heavyweights Alexander Gustafsson and Thiago Silva square off in the main event.As a fast-rising star, …
Tomorrow night marks the debut of the UFC in Sweden on an event that sold out faster than any MMA card in European history. In the main event, light heavyweights Alexander Gustafsson and Thiago Silva square off in the main event.
As a fast-rising star, Gustafsson has climbed into the Top 10 of one of MMA’s most celebrated divisions after consecutive stoppage victories over gatekeepers Vladimir Matyushenko and Matt Hamill.
Here are the burning questions that we have about the young Swede as he prepares for the biggest fight of his career.
It’s hard to imagine at this point in his career, but there was a time not too long ago that Brandon Vera was knocking on the door of a heavyweight title shot. Consecutive losses to Tim Sylvia and Fabricio Werdum quickly squashed this notion, and perhaps in an attempt to save his career, Vera dropped to light heavyweight. The results thus far have been nothing short of disastrous.
Since dropping to 205, Vera:
1. Scored a weak UD over Reese Andy in his debut at UFN 14
2. Was made Keith Jardine’s personal whipping boy at UFC 89
3. Was nearly bear hugged to death by Randy Couture at UFC 105
4. Had his face ground into a fine powder by Jon Jones at UFC Live 1
5. Suffered the second most embarrassing loss in UFC history* when Thiago Silva used him as his personal set of bongos before treating his face like that of a three dollar hooker at UFC 125. But hey, the fight was changed to a no-contest, so that’s something, right?
6. Had his arm broken by a guy he was supposed to destroy at UFC 137.
Regardless of his track record, it looks like Vera will be getting yet another chance to silence his naysayers when he takes on the heavy-handed James Te Huna at UFC on FUEL 4 in July.
(“How old are you again, Brandon? I lost count.”)
It’s hard to imagine at this point in his career, but there was a time not too long ago that Brandon Vera was knocking on the door of a heavyweight title shot. Consecutive losses to Tim Sylvia and Fabricio Werdum quickly squashed this notion, and perhaps in an attempt to save his career, Vera dropped to light heavyweight. The results thus far have been nothing short of disastrous.
Since dropping to 205, Vera:
1. Scored a weak UD over Reese Andy in his debut at UFN 14
2. Was made Keith Jardine’s personal whipping boy at UFC 89
3. Was nearly bear hugged to death by Randy Couture at UFC 105
4. Had his face ground into a fine powder by Jon Jones at UFC Live 1
5. Suffered the second most embarrassing loss in UFC history* when Thiago Silva used him as his personal set of bongos before treating his face like that of a three dollar hooker at UFC 125. But hey, the fight was changed to a no-contest, so that’s something, right?
6. Had his arm broken by a guy he was supposed to destroy at UFC 137.
After Silva was popped for steroids in the aftermath of his win over Vera and served a subsequent year-long suspension, “The Truth” was supposed to welcome that “piece of shit juice monkey” back to the octagon at UFC on FX 3. However, when Vera found out that the aformentioned broken arm he sustained against Elliot Marshall would not be healed up in time, he was forced to withdraw from the rematch.
Vera might want to consider wearing his protective face guard ala Kobe Bryant when he squares off against James Te Huna, because that New-Zealander packs some serious power in his hands. Te Huna is currently 3-1 in the octagon, with all of his victories coming by way of uber violent (T)KO. He suffered his only UFC loss via rear-naked choke to top contender Alexander Gustafsson at UFC 127, so if Vera is smart, he’ll be looking to take this one to the ground, as Te Huna has shown a weakness for submissions in the past.
No date or location have been named for UFC on FUEL 4, though it is expected to place sometime in July.
Thiago Silva makes his long-awaited return at UFC on Fuel 2: Gustafsson vs. Silva this Saturday in Sweden after serving a year suspension for PED usage in his fight with Brandon Vera.At one point in his career, he was widely considered one of the top y…
Thiago Silva makes his long-awaited return at UFC on Fuel 2: Gustafsson vs. Silva this Saturday in Sweden after serving a year suspension for PED usage in his fight with Brandon Vera.
At one point in his career, he was widely considered one of the top young fighters in the light heavyweight division; however, a new wave of young fighters have entered the UFC and have taken Silva’s spot at the top of the division.
Silva will face the toughest test of his career when he squares off against Alexander Gustafsson, who will be fighting in front of a hometown crowd. As with every fight, there will always questions about a certain fighter and the main event is no different, so let’s take a look at what I believe are the biggest questions surrounding Silva’s return to the cage.
How Much Ring Rust Will He Have Following a Year Away from the Sport?
It has been over a year since Silva has stepped foot into the UFC cage. In that time, a lot has changed in the light heavyweight division with Jon Jones sitting at the top of the division as champion and several fighters dropping out of the top 10.
We know that ring rust is real, so it’s not a question of “does he have ring rust?” It’s “how much ring rust does he have?” If he’s been training the entire year at American Top Team, then it is very possible that a year away will have been extremely beneficial as he’ll have made vast improvements in all of his skills.
A bigger question is: Is he the same explosive striker or has he lost a step? If he’s lost his timing then it should be expected that Gustafsson will end his night swiftly.
How Will He Fare Against a Young and Surging Opponent?
Essentially a follow-up to the first question regarding ring rust, but how will Silva react when he faces a young and hungry opponent with momentum on his side? The last time Silva won a fight was in 2009 during the short-lived Lyoto Machida era. Since then the entire light heavyweight landscape has changed.
His opponent Gustafsson is in a similar place in his fight career as Silva when he faced Machida. The key difference is that Machida was also a young and surging opponent while Silva hasn’t won a fight since 2009 when he knocked out Keith Jardine.
Did Silva’s time away from the cage allow him to become a better fighter or will it prove to be his undoing as his contemporaries continue to improve?
How Will He Handle Gustafsson’s Range?
Silva is a fighter who is at his best when fighting inside. Between his punching power and knees from the clinch, he’s one of the most dangerous fighters in the light heavyweight division after closing the distance.
Unfortunately for Silva, his opponent Gustafsson is not only one of the rangiest fighters in the division, but also one of the hardest hitting. A huge concern is that the time away will have affected Silva’s ability to time punches and limit damage as he closes the distance.
If he can get inside he can make the fight interesting as Gustafsson has never faced someone with such a violent clinch game. If he cannot, then it’s very likely he won’t have a successful showing in his return to the Octagon.
Is There a Chance He’s Hiding Another Injury Entering This Fight?
Silva has been extremely injury-prone during his career. It became most apparent following his fight with Rashad Evans at UFC 108 where he entered the fight with a slew of injuries and spoke about them openly afterwards.
The assumption is that a year away from fighting would be only beneficial to his body. It will allow him to heal up any nagging injuries and essentially fight close to 100 percent. Unfortunately, a year away from fighting also means a year away from earning and when a fighter needs to provide for their family they can make rash and irresponsible decisions.
We haven’t seen Thiago Silva in a UFC cage since UFC 125, way back on May of 2011. You probably remember the night. Silva abused Brandon Vera for a full 15 minutes, thrashing him around the cage with ease. He even played the bongos on Vera’s back,…
We haven’t seen Thiago Silva in a UFC cage since UFC 125, way back on May of 2011.
You probably remember the night. Silva abused Brandon Vera for a full 15 minutes, thrashing him around the cage with ease. He even played the bongos on Vera’s back, which really only served to humiliate Vera. The emphatic win sent Vera packing from the UFC, albeit only for a brief moment.
But it was Silva who was humiliated after the fight, when it was revealed that the urine sample Silva submitted to Nevada regulators contained a liquid not consistent with human urine. Yes, big bad Thiago Silva used a Whizzinator in an attempt to throw the NSAC for a loop.
The win over Vera was deemed a no-contest and Silva was suspended for one year.
Silva confessed his crime, did the time and now he’s returning on Saturday night against Alexander Gustafsson in the main event of UFC on FUEL 2. He spoke to MMAjunkie.com in Sweden about his return to the cage:
“It’s been a hard time, but I used the time off to take care of my body and take care of my injuries and recover,” he today told MMAjunkie.com. “I’m much better right now because I’m 100 percent healthy. And that’s the most important thing.”
I’ve always enjoyed Thiago Silva’s fights. Even when they’re boring as hell, he just has a menace about him that makes you think he could kill his opponent at any given moment. He faces a stern test in Gustafsson, but one thing’s for sure: It’s going to be one hell of a fight.
After a wait that has spanned across almost three calendar years, Saturday night in Sweden will mark the return of one of the most underappreciated light heavyweights in the business. Thiago Silva will look to remind the world just how good he is, perh…
After a wait that has spanned across almost three calendar years, Saturday night in Sweden will mark the return of one of the most underappreciated light heavyweights in the business. Thiago Silva will look to remind the world just how good he is, perhaps derailing the hype train of prospect Alexander Gustafsson along the way.
However, a question that many have regarding Silva and his return is whether or not he can rehab his image, as the reason he’s been out of action since the first day of 2011 is a PED test gone awry. No one ever said he wasn’t a bad dude, but he hurt his credibility in a big way when he tried to pawn off animal urine as his own to fool an athletic commission.
There’s no better way to erase those memories and silence those doubters than to collect a win against a man that many are pegging to be the next threat to Jon Jones at the top of the division.
Looking at Silva, he’s a man that many people have written off or outright forgotten about at 205. The Gustafsson fight will be just his sixth since 2008, and as he’s gone only 2-2-1 in that time people tend to overlook the Brazilian as a viable contender.
However, his two losses are to men who have held UFC gold (they’re also the only defeats he’s suffered as a pro), and the no-contest was a fight he won handily before his drug test spoiled it.
Objectively, Silva is much better than people realize. He just rarely gets to show it.
That could change in Sweden.
Like it or not, the MMA community has shown to have a short memory when it comes to PED users making a return to the cage. For better or worse, most guys who provide commissioners with nuclear pee at some point in their career are forgiven if they can perform in the cage.
Names like Stephan Bonnar and Sean Sherk are usually discussed for their fighting successes instead of their failed tests, while a guy like Josh Barnett still gets ribbed for his PED past but is enjoying fan support and encouragement to return to the UFC.
Silva will hope for the same.
It won’t be easy, though, as Gustafsson is an incredible athlete who is entering his prime, fighting with the added fire of a man headlining in front of a hometown crowd that’s never seen a UFC event in their country.
Considering that, perhaps even a spirited loss might be enough for Silva to erase the memories of the past couple of years.
Either way, Silva is back. In a division that’s deceptively thin outside of the top five, that’s a good thing. He’s a warrior with a kill-or-be-killed mentality, and past mistakes notwithstanding, there’s always room for that type of guy in MMA.
The road to reparation begins Saturday night for him. Only he can decide how he travels it.
The drought is almost over.On Saturday, April 14, the UFC will hold its first event since March 3, when the promotion travels to Sweden to present UFC on Fuel TV 2—a card that will be headlined by a light heavyweight scrap between Alexander Gusta…
The drought is almost over.
On Saturday, April 14, the UFC will hold its first event since March 3, when the promotion travels to Sweden to present UFC on Fuel TV 2—a card that will be headlined by a light heavyweight scrap between Alexander Gustafsson and Thiago Silva.
One change on this card is that the event will be broadcast live with the preliminary card set to be streamed on Facebook beginning at 12:30 p.m. ET. The main card will begin at 3 p.m. ET, and as the card name indicates, will be broadcast on Fuel TV.
Many of the preliminary card fights will feature combatants that will make their UFC debut in Sweden, while the main card will feature several fighters looking to put themselves in position to challenge for UFC titles.
What follows are the questions we have as we near Saturday’s fight card.
