This weekend, the UFC comes live from Sweden on Fuel TV. Headlined by Swedish star Alexander Gustafsson and savage Brazilian Thiago Silva, it is sure to be a historic night for Swedish fans.In the co-main event, Brian Stann and Alessio Sakara square of…
This weekend, the UFC comes live from Sweden on Fuel TV. Headlined by Swedish star Alexander Gustafsson and savage Brazilian Thiago Silva, it is sure to be a historic night for Swedish fans.
In the co-main event, Brian Stann and Alessio Sakara square off in what is sure to be an exciting striking affair. Stann is an American hero for his work with the United States Marines, which has earned him a wide fan base. Sakara is an Italian striker, who has run into a string of injuries coming into this fight.
Let’s take a closer look at this card, which will take place Saturday during the late morning and early afternoon.
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.
Yoislandy Izquierdo is a name you should learn to remember. The Cuban-born MMA fighter is a lightweight prospect who will be making his debut at UFC on FUEL TV 2 against battle-hardened Swede Reza Madadi.But Izquierdo is ready.Hard work is nothing…
Yoislandy Izquierdo is a name you should learn to remember.
The Cuban-born MMA fighter is a lightweight prospect who will be making his debut at UFC on FUEL TV 2 against battle-hardened Swede Reza Madadi.
But Izquierdo is ready.
Hard work is nothing new to the man who pours hours and hours into training daily. He had to leave his home several years ago and work his way up to the best MMA promotion in the world.
“I left Cuba at the age of 23 years under political asylum,” Izquierdo told Bleacher Report through his manager Alfred Munoz, who translated.
“I was working for an export auto company a short time ago, but I am now a full-time fighter,” said Izquierdo. “I realized I wanted to be an MMA fighter for a living when I saw I had a talent in the sport and enjoyed practicing it.”
That talent in the sport is quite considerable. Izquierdo first fought in April 2010 and is now 6-0 in professional MMA, with three wins by TKO and one win by submission to his name.
But fighting isn’t easy.
“The most difficult thing about being a professional MMA fighter is putting forth daily dedication and sacrifice in training,” he said. Nevertheless, Izquierdo isn’t one to back down from a difficult task or to be daunted by a challenge; he looks at the difficulties in a positive light.
“The best thing about being a pro fighter is seeing how all of my sacrifices and hard work are not done in vain when I give my all in the fights. At the same time, the admiration and support I receive from my fans feels great.”
Despite the fame and praise of being a successful MMA fighter, Izquierdo hasn’t forgotten the people who helped him get this far.
“I would like to thank all of my fans, because in some way or another, they have had a huge part in my career. I would like to also thank my family, trainer and manager,” he said.
Yoislandy Izquierdo vs. Reza Madadi is scheduled to air on the Facebook preliminaries for UFC on FUEL TV 2 on April 14th. It will be Izquierdo’s seventh MMA bout, and his first fight in the UFC.
After a deflating loss to Chael Sonnen—his first as a middleweight—Brian Stann will return to the Octagon against Alessio Sakara at Saturday’s UFC on Fuel TV 2.With an impressive win over Sakara, Stann would put himself back in the hunt for…
After a deflating loss to Chael Sonnen—his first as a middleweight—Brian Stann will return to the Octagon against Alessio Sakara at Saturday’s UFC on Fuel TV 2.
With an impressive win over Sakara, Stann would put himself back in the hunt for a title shot, but he has ground to make up to pass other contenders like Michael Bisping, Mark Munoz and Chris Weidman.
Meanwhile, Sakara has gone more than one year without fighting after suffering a decision loss to Weidman. Prior to that defeat, Sakara had won three straight fights and was looking to make a run toward the top of the 185-pound division.
Now, these two fighters will compete to get back on track and within striking distance of the division’s top fighters. Let’s take a look at how the sluggers match up against one another heading into Saturday’s event.
(Magnus Cedenblad highlight reel via zaihtaMHS. Head bussin’, head bussin’.)
After a six-week spring break, the UFC returns from hibernation this Saturday with their first-ever event in Sweden. UFC on Fuel TV: Gustafsson vs. Silva goes down at the Ericsson Globe Arena in Stockholm, and will feature five local scrappers — red-hot light-heavyweight contender Alexander Gustafsson, the returning Papy Abedi (who lost his UFC debut to Thiago Alves), as well as three Sweden-based newcomers to help fill out the Facebook prelims. Meet the new guys below, and keep in mind that the six-fight Fuel TV main card will air live at 3 p.m. ET / noon PT.
MAGNUS “Jycken” CEDENBLAD(MW) Experience: 10-6 record (9 wins by stoppage) with multiple appearances in the Superior Challenge and Vision Fighting Championship promotions. Last fight was an 88-second kimura victory over Dan Edwards in October 2011. Will be facing:Francis Carmont (17-7, 1-0 UFC) Lowdown: First of all, “Jycken” means “The Pooch.” A product of Stockholm’s Pancrase Gym, Cedenblad has recently been working out of AKA in San Jose. He started training six years ago because he wanted to learn how to kick like Cro Cop, but has become better known as a ground-and-pounder. As he told MMABay, “My long term goal is to be ranked as a top five guy. I know that will happen. Just give me four years and then you will see me there.”
(Magnus Cedenblad highlight reel via zaihtaMHS. Head bussin’, head bussin’.)
After a six-week spring break, the UFC returns from hibernation this Saturday with their first-ever event in Sweden. UFC on Fuel TV: Gustafsson vs. Silva goes down at the Ericsson Globe Arena in Stockholm, and will feature five local scrappers — red-hot light-heavyweight contender Alexander Gustafsson, the returning Papy Abedi (who lost his UFC debut to Thiago Alves), as well as three Sweden-based newcomers to help fill out the Facebook prelims. Meet the new guys below, and keep in mind that the six-fight Fuel TV main card will air live at 3 p.m. ET / noon PT.
MAGNUS “Jycken” CEDENBLAD(MW) Experience: 10-6 record (9 wins by stoppage) with multiple appearances in the Superior Challenge and Vision Fighting Championship promotions. Last fight was an 88-second kimura victory over Dan Edwards in October 2011. Will be facing:Francis Carmont (17-7, 1-0 UFC) Lowdown: First of all, “Jycken” means “The Pooch.” A product of Stockholm’s Pancrase Gym, Cedenblad has recently been working out of AKA in San Jose. He started training six years ago because he wanted to learn how to kick like Cro Cop, but has become better known as a ground-and-pounder. As he told MMABay, ”My long term goal is to be ranked as a top five guy. I know that will happen. Just give me four years and then you will see me there.”
(Reza Madadi vs. Junie Browning, 5/1/10)
REZA “Mad Dog” MADADI (LW) Experience: 11-2 record (six wins by submission) with multiple appearances in the Superior Challenge and Strike and Submit promotions. Holds notable victories over UFC veterans Junie Browning, Carlo Prater, and Rich Clementi; the win over Clementi earned Madadi Superior Challenge’s lightweight title last April. Will be facing: Cuban newcomer Yoislandy Izquierdo (6-0, 0-0 UFC) Lowdown: The Iranian-born Swedish prospect has been wrestling since he was 10 years old, and has since picked up various wrestling titles in Sweden. Madadi trains out of Hilti Stockholm alongside Papy Abedi and Per Eklund. He was originally supposed to make his UFC debut against Rafaello Oliveira at UFC on FX 1 in January, but both fighters had to withdraw due to injury. A BloodyElbow scouting report from 2010 says that Madadi is ”relentless in his attacks, sets up his takedowns well by mixing punches and knees in the clinch, and he fully commits to the takedown when he shoots…While he doesn’t possess crushing knockout power, he can be pretty effective in causing opponents to cover up and shooting for takedowns as they defend. His clinch skills work well in conjunction with that type of gameplan, and his footwork and quickness on the feet make him an absolute nightmare for anyone trying to gauge when he’ll shoot.”
(Besam Yousef vs. Joao Neves, 3/27/10)
BESAM YOUSEF (WW) Experience: 6-0 record (four wins by first round stoppage), with all fights taking place for the Zone FC promotion in Gothenburg, Sweden. Last fight was an 84-second guillotine choke victory over Jason Ponet in May 2011. Will be facing: Norwegian newcomer Simeon Thoresen (16-2-1, 0-0 UFC) Lowdown: A member of the Gladius MMA Pro Team — where he was a former training partner of Alexander Gustafsson (shown cornering him in the above video) — Yousef is a Syrian-born Swede who’s reigned as the Zone FC welterweight champ since 2010. Though he’s recognized as an aggressive, well-rounded fight-finisher, he’s never fought anybody with a winning record, which isn’t an encouraging statistic going into a fight against Thoreson, an experienced and well-traveled protege of Joachim Hansen. He didn’t go to college, held no other jobs before his MMA career, and digs the arm-triangle and left hook.
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.