Tag: UFC on Fuel 2

UFC on Fuel TV 2 Results: Is Brian Stann Worthy of a Top 5 Opponent?

Middleweight Brian Stann wasted little time rebounding from the first loss of his 185-pound career, dismantling Alessio Sakara in less than a round. The performance showed that the former United States Marine is still one of the most devastating strike…

Middleweight Brian Stann wasted little time rebounding from the first loss of his 185-pound career, dismantling Alessio Sakara in less than a round.

The performance showed that the former United States Marine is still one of the most devastating strikers in the division. And although he came up short against current No. 1 contender Chael Sonnen, Stann is worthy of another upper-echelon opponent.

Unlike the Sonnen fight, where Stann’s takedown defense was exploited, Stann attacked early and often against the former professional boxer Sakara. Stann utilized knees from the Muay Thai clinch to send the Italian to the canvas, and finished him off with a series of devastating left hands from inside his guard.

The win took Stann’s record in the division to 4-1 since dropping down from light heavyweight. Now the question remains, where does Stann stack up against the rest of the middleweight division?

The easiest way to answer that question is to put him in the cage with the likes of the Vitor Belfort, Michael Bisping or Mark Munoz—all of whom could be on the verge of a title shot in 2012.

Both Belfort and Bisping have fights lined up this summer, against Wanderlei Silva and Tim Boestch, respectively. Should either come out victorious, they represent the best matchup for Stann.

Belfort’s lightning-fast hands or Bisping’s precision striking are sure to yield fireworks for fans against the heavy-handed Stann.

However, the UFC could choose to go in a different direction and pit the former WEC champ against another high-level wrestler such as Munoz or even fast-rising prospect Chris Weidman. Either of those matchups could represent a litmus test for Stann’s evolving skill set.

Either way, Stann’s next opponent should be a top-tier fighter. The 31-year-old may not be ready to challenge champion Anderson Silva just yet, but there may be a title shot in the not-so-distant future.

 

Rob Tatum is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report MMA. You can also find Rob’s work at The MMA Corner. For anything related to MMA, follow him on Twitter.

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UFC on Fuel TV 2 Results: Does Alexander Gustafsson Deserve a Title Fight?

Swedish light heavyweight Alexander Gustafsson put on a dominant display in his headlining fight with Thiago Silva at UFC on Fuel TV 2. Afterwards, the first question asked in his post-fight interview was about a title shot.Gustafsson deflected the que…

Swedish light heavyweight Alexander Gustafsson put on a dominant display in his headlining fight with Thiago Silva at UFC on Fuel TV 2. Afterwards, the first question asked in his post-fight interview was about a title shot.

Gustafsson deflected the question, citing that he was still growing as a fighter and would face whoever the UFC put in front of him. Despite a five-fight winning streak, the Swede is wise to downplay the title talk.

Even with his 6-1 record inside the Octagon, he’s yet to take out a consensus top-10 opponent. In fact, his only loss came at the hands of top-tier wrestler Phil Davis.

It’s only natural that Gustafsson’s name would be mentioned in contention when you compare his physique to current champion Jon Jones. At an imposing 6’5″, the Scandinavian has the height and reach that may give the equally lanky Jones a problem in the cage.

Compound that with the fact that Jones has dispatched every opponent put in front of him and there’s no doubt Gustafsson has to be in the mix.

However, there are a number of fighters ahead of him on the ladder. Most notably, Rashad Evans—who challenges Jones at UFC 145 next weekend—and the ageless Dan Henderson.

Gustafsson’s path to a title shot should include at least one—if not more—of the division’s former champions. If Gustafsson could get around the likes of Mauricio “Shogun” Rua or Lyoto Machida, a much stronger case could be made for a title shot.

Perhaps the most logical opponent for the Swede would be former Ultimate Fighter winner Ryan Bader, who is also working his way up the 205-pound ladder. Bader poses many of the same problems for Gustafsson as Davis did, with his strong wrestling credentials.

There’s no doubt that Gustafsson is one of the most promising fighters in the division, but force-feeding him to Jones anytime soon would be a mistake. Another victory or two over any of the aforementioned names and this topic won’t even be open for debate.

 

Rob Tatum is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report MMA. You can also find Rob’s work at The MMA Corner. For anything related to MMA, follow him on Twitter.

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UFC on Fuel TV 2 Results: Recapping the Fight Night Bonuses

The UFC’s first event in Sweden has just come to a close, and what a night of fight it was!The Swedish fans were treated to a finish-heavy card, with just four of 12 fights going the distance.Fighters have learned well by now that if they put on an exc…

The UFC’s first event in Sweden has just come to a close, and what a night of fight it was!

The Swedish fans were treated to a finish-heavy card, with just four of 12 fights going the distance.

Fighters have learned well by now that if they put on an exciting fight for the fans, they could leave with more money at the end of the night—and tonight is no exception.

Let’s get down to it. Here are the bonuses for UFC on Fuel TV 2: 

 

Submission of the night: John Macguire

Macguire takes home submission of the night, and rightfully so. He hit a beautiful far-side armbar to tap Damarques Johnson.

It was similar to the fashion in which Matt Hughes once defeated Georges St-Pierre, as Johnson over-comitted to a kimura and Macguire was able to exploit this mistake and win the fight.

 

Knockout of the night: Siyar Bahadurzada

Bahadurzada made a big statement in the welterweight division this evening, becoming the first man to ever finish Paulo Thiago.

Thiago was charging forward and Bahadurzada used that momentum to his advantage, landing a beautiful counter punch and putting his opponent to sleep. 

 

Fight of the Night: Brad Pickett vs. Damacio Page

Pickett and Page will both leave Sweden with an extra $50k as a reward for the two-round war they put on for the fans.

It was a fast-paced fight, with both fighters scoring takedowns and landing some big shots.

In the end, Pickett proved to be the better fighter, rocking Page on the feet and eventually sinking in a rear-naked choke and walking away with a submission victory.

 

Andrew Barr is a Featured Columnist for BleacherReport.com. For updates on what’s happening in the world of MMA, follow him on Twitter @AndrewBarr8.

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UFC on Fuel 2: What We Learned from Alexander Gustafsson vs. Thiago Silva

In the highly anticipated main event of UFC on Fuel 2, Alexander Gustafsson proved that he is the real deal at 205. Gustafsson out-worked Thiago Silva on his feet using his reach and awesome footwork, and he even got compared to UFC champion Jon Jones …

In the highly anticipated main event of UFC on Fuel 2, Alexander Gustafsson proved that he is the real deal at 205.

Gustafsson out-worked Thiago Silva on his feet using his reach and awesome footwork, and he even got compared to UFC champion Jon Jones by commentator Kenny Florian.

The win for Gustafsson is going to push him into the upper echelon of the light heavyweight division, and the hype behind him is going to skyrocket after he dominated a savage like Silva.

 

What We’ll Remember About This Fight:

This fight was the coming out party of Alexander Gustafsson.

We can now consider Gustafsson among the elite at 205, and at just 24 years old he may have the most potential of anyone in the division not named Jon Jones.

Silva didn’t look terrible, but the year long absence seemed to hurt him a bit and he was just unable to find his range against the lanky Gustafsson.

 

What We Learned About Alexander Gustafsson

Not only is Gustafsson for real, he’s a lightweight in a 205lb body.

His standup was phenomenal, his clinch work was great and he showed he can go a full three rounds without gassing out.

Gustafsson answered a ton of questions tonight and proved he’s legitimate.

 

What We Learned About Thiago Silva

The year long layoff hurt him, but his inability to adjust to Gustafsson’s range hurt him much worse.

Silva is an aggressive striker, but sometimes he looks for the knockout punch instead of throwing combinations together and that’s what he did tonight.

 

What’s Next For Alexander Gustafsson

Gustaffson is now extremely close to a title shot, but with Dan Henderson already waiting in the wings it looks like he’ll have to fight once more before getting a shot at Jon Jones.

A bout with Lyoto Machida would be a great test for Gustafsson, but if the UFC wants to match him up with a winner then Ryan Bader is really the only option.

 

What’s Next For Thiago Silva

In one of the most exciting fights I can even think of, Silva should fight Shogun Rua next.

Rua was supposed to fight Rampage Jackson, but Rampage is getting surgery on his knees and will likely be out awhile.

A fight between Silva and Shogun would be a muay thai fans dream and would be an excellent fight to throw on July’s UFC 147 card in Brazil. 

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UFC on Fuel TV 2 Results: What We Learned from Alessio Sakara vs. Brian Stann

Brian Stann got himself back on track, knocking Alessio Sakara out in the first round of their fight.Both men are dangerous strikers, but Stann was able to find his range first and drop Sakara with a knee. From there, Stann hammered away in Sakara’s gu…

Brian Stann got himself back on track, knocking Alessio Sakara out in the first round of their fight.

Both men are dangerous strikers, but Stann was able to find his range first and drop Sakara with a knee. From there, Stann hammered away in Sakara’s guard and ended the fight with a couple vicious left hooks.

This is Stann’s fourth win in his last five fights and puts him back in the hunt for a shot at the UFC Middleweight Championship.

 

What we’ll remember about this fight:

The knockout, of course.

People always remember a knockout and this one in particular was interesting. It’s rare that you see a fighter knock his opponent out with left hooks from inside the guard.

 

What we learned about Brian Stann:

Nothing we didn’t know already.

This dude is one of the hardest punchers at middleweight. If he finds your chin, you’re going out.

 

What we learned about Alessio Sakara:

He’s still not a top middleweight.

If you look at Sakara’s record, he’s had reasonable success within the UFC, but every time he faces a top contender, he falters.

He’s an entertaining fighter, so the UFC will keep him around as long as he wins more than he loses, but Sakara will never be in the title picture.

 

What’s next for Brian Stann:

Yushin Okami.

 

What’s next for Alessio Sakara:

The loser of C.B. Dollaway and Jason Miller would make sense.

 

Andrew Barr is a Featured Columnist for BleacherReport.com. For updates on what’s happening in the world of MMA, follow him on Twitter @AndrewBarr8.

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UFC on Fuel 2 Results: What We Learned from Siyar Bahadurzada vs. Paulo Thiago

Siyar Bahadurzada came into his UFC debut with a lot of hype as an exciting fighter, and he showcased his impressive striking early against Paulo Thiago. Thiago came rushing in with a big combination, and Bahadurzada countered with a beautiful right ha…

Siyar Bahadurzada came into his UFC debut with a lot of hype as an exciting fighter, and he showcased his impressive striking early against Paulo Thiago.

Thiago came rushing in with a big combination, and Bahadurzada countered with a beautiful right hand that left his opponent laying face down on the mat.

Looks like we’ve got a front runner for Knockout of the Night honors.

What We’ll Remember About This Fight:

There’s not much to remember, other than the insane power that Bahadurzada possesses.

In what was basically the first flurry of punches in the fight, Bahadurzada showed off his power and ended the fight in just 42 seconds.

What We Learned About Siyar Bahadurzada

We didn’t get much of a chance to see him fight, but you can’t argue with results.

Bahadurzada got the win and showed he has the ability to end any fight in an instant.

What We Learned About Paulo Thiago

You can’t take too much away from Paulo Thiago for this one.

Thiago usually gives the fans a show and puts on a good fight, but he didn’t have a chance to do that today.

Thiago got caught, it happens, and he won’t lose too much ground in the division after that.

What’s Next For Siyar Bahadurzada

His original UFC debut was supposed to be at UFC 142 against Erick Silva.

While Silva has a fight with Charlie Brenneman coming up, I’d like to see him fight Bahadurzada next regardless of the outcome.

What’s Next For Paulo Thiago

Thiago needs to stay active, and the loser of the UFC on Fuel 3 fight between Amir Sadollah and Jorge Lopez would be a good matchup for the Brazilian.

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