Tag: UFC on Fuel 3

Stefan Struve vs. Mark Hunt Booked for UFC 146


(Struve channels his inner Keanu Reeves during his UFC 130 bout against Travis Browne.) 

In a fight that is all but guaranteed to end in a decisive, if not brutally violent fashion, it appears that heavyweight contenders Stefan “Skyscraper” Struve and Mark “Mark” Hunt are set to collide at UFC 146, which now features an all heavyweight lineup as its main card for the first time in UFC history. Thank God it’s not being held at a high altitude.

We know what you’re thinking: WHY IS TIM SYLVIA NOT ON THIS CARD?!!!

Hunt has had perhaps the most startling career resurgence in recent memory, scoring three straight octagon victories over Chris Tuchscherer, Ben Rothwell, and most recently Cheick Kongo, with two of those victories coming by way of destructive KO. This was made even more shocking due to the fact that Hunt was only picked up by the UFC in order to fulfill a contract he had signed back in his PRIDE days before the organization was absorbed by Zuffa.

Struve, on the other hand, will be looking to add another three fight win streak to his current 7-3 octagon record come May 26th. We last saw him at UFC on FUEL: Sanchez vs. Ellenberger, when he dispatched Manbearpig Dave Herman via second round TKO. Prior to that, Struve choked out our boy Pat Barry in the first round of their UFC Live 6 co-headliner bout.

UFC 146 transpires at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas and features a main event title clash between Junior Dos Santos and Alistair Overeem.

In other fight booking news…


(Struve channels his inner Keanu Reeves during his UFC 130 bout against Travis Browne.) 

In a fight that is all but guaranteed to end in a decisive, if not brutally violent fashion, it appears that heavyweight contenders Stefan “Skyscraper” Struve and Mark “Mark” Hunt are set to collide at UFC 146, which now features an all heavyweight lineup as its main card for the first time in UFC history. Thank God it’s not being held at a high altitude.

We know what you’re thinking: WHY IS TIM SYLVIA NOT ON THIS CARD?!!!

Hunt has had perhaps the most startling career resurgence in recent memory, scoring three straight octagon victories over Chris Tuchscherer, Ben Rothwell, and most recently Cheick Kongo, with two of those victories coming by way of destructive KO. This was made even more shocking due to the fact that Hunt was only picked up by the UFC in order to fulfill a contract he had signed back in his PRIDE days before the organization was absorbed by Zuffa.

Struve, on the other hand, will be looking to add another three fight win streak to his current 7-3 octagon record come May 26th. We last saw him at UFC on FUEL: Sanchez vs. Ellenberger, when he dispatched Manbearpig Dave Herman via second round TKO. Prior to that, Struve choked out our boy Pat Barry in the first round of their UFC Live 6 co-headliner bout.

UFC 146 transpires at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas and features a main event title clash between Junior Dos Santos and Alistair Overeem.

In other fight booking news…

Light Heavyweight sluggers Igor Pokrajac and Fabio Maldonado are scheduled to square off at UFC on FUEL 3, which goes down on on May 15 at the Patriot Center in Fairfax, Virginia and features a headlining possible number one contender bout between Dustin Poirier and Chan Sung Jung. Maldonado, who hasn’t fought since dropping a close decision to Kyle Kingsbury at the TUF 13 Finale, is stepping in to replace Thiago Silva, who in turn stepped in to replace Antonio Rogerio Nogueria against Alexander Gustafsson for the main event of UFC on FUEL 2.

The full event lineup for both UFC 146 and UFC on FUEL 3 is below.

UFC 146 
Heavyweight Championship bout: Junior dos Santos (c) vs. Alistair Overeem
Heavyweight bout: Cain Velasquez vs. Frank Mir
Heavyweight bout: Roy Nelson vs. Antonio Silva
Heavyweight bout: Mark Hunt vs. Stefan Struve
Heavyweight Bout: Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Shane Del Rosario
Middleweight bout: Jason Miller vs. C.B. Dollaway
Welterweight bout: Dan Hardy vs. Duane Ludwig
Lightweight bout: Jacob Volkmann vs. Paul Sass
Featherweight bout: Darren Elkins vs. Diego Brandao
Light Heavyweight bout: Kyle Kingsbury vs. Glover Teixeira

UFC on FUEL 3 
Featherweight bout: Dustin Poirier vs. Chan Sung Jung
Light Heavyweight bout: Fabio Maldonado vs. Igor Pokrajac
Lightweight bout: Donald Cerrone vs. Jeremy Stephens
Lightweight bout: Rafael dos Anjos vs. Kamal Shalorus
Lightweight bout: TJ Grant vs. Carlo Prater
Middleweight bout: Tom Lawlor vs. Jason MacDonald
Welterweight bout: Amir Sadollah vs. Jorge Lopez
Lightweight bout: Cody McKenzie vs. Aaron Riley
Middleweight bout: Brad Tavares vs. Dongi Yang
Bantamweight bout: Yves Jabouin vs. Mike Easton
Bantamweight bout: Jeff Curran vs. Johnny Eduardo
Bantamweight bout: Alex Soto vs. Azamat Gashimov

-J. Jones

UFC on Fuel 3: Jeremy Stephens vs. Donald Cerrone Head-to-Toe Breakdown

Competing against two of the top lightweight contenders in their most recent fights, Jeremy Stephens and Donald Cerrone saw impressive winning streaks come to an end, but both fighters are still in the hunt for a shot at the 155-pound title in a divisi…

Competing against two of the top lightweight contenders in their most recent fights, Jeremy Stephens and Donald Cerrone saw impressive winning streaks come to an end, but both fighters are still in the hunt for a shot at the 155-pound title in a division that sees its landscape change with just about every big fight.

In his most recent fight, Stephens lost in a split decision against Anthony Pettis, who proceeded to knock out Joe Lauzon and is now considered on of the top candidates to fight for the lightweight belt in the near future.

Meanwhile, Cerrone is coming off of a loss to Nate Diaz. Prior to that defeat, Cerrone has not been beaten since he fought Benson Henderson for the WEC lightweight title.

At UFC on Fuel 3, which will take place in May, Stephens and Cerrone will attempt to put themselves back on track for a shot at UFC gold with a win over the other. Let’s take a look at which fighter has the edge heading into what should be an exciting slugfest.

Begin Slideshow

The Winner of Dustin Poirier and Chan Sung Jung Must Be Next for Jose Aldo

When the winner of the Dustin Poirier and Chan Sung Jung bout emerges from the third UFC on Fuel TV card on May 15, they will have earned the right to face Jose Aldo for the featherweight title.The two men are exciting to watch and they both have been …

When the winner of the Dustin Poirier and Chan Sung Jung bout emerges from the third UFC on Fuel TV card on May 15, they will have earned the right to face Jose Aldo for the featherweight title.

The two men are exciting to watch and they both have been defeating competition in highlight reel fashion. The only thing that could stop them is if there was someone else who had a larger following than they did or had been on a roll.

There isn’t. Aldo has run through every popular fighter and veteran that has competed at featherweight and lay claim to being the top contender. Whoever wins the fight between Jung and Poirier would be the best bet at giving him a tough fight or at the very least intriguing fans with the matchup.

The biggest potential selling point for a fight between Aldo and the victor boils down to how the fight between Jung and Poirier plays out. If both men have an unconventionally “boring” match which is technically sound, but short on fireworks, then the UFC may look somewhere else.

For someone like Chan Sung Jung who has earned the nickname “the Korean Zombie,” that doesn’t seem likely. In his last fight he was able to knock out former challenger Mark Hominick in seven seconds and the fight before that saw him face Leonard Garcia in a rematch from their 2009 Fight of the Year bout.

It ended with Jung getting the first ever twister submission in MMA history.

Poirier may not have those accolades on his resume, but he did win Submission of the Night in his last fight by getting an armbar from the mount position against Max Holloway. While he doesn’t have any other prizes to his credit, he has always made memorable matches that left fans cheering.

If both men can put on a fight that gets fans talking, the winner will be at the top of the list to face Aldo.

While neither man is as fast or technically sharp as the champion, they make thrilling fights and generate interest in their bouts.

Poirier and Jung are also both unpredictable. From Jung’s twister to Poirier’s armbar from the mount, both men are willing to come up with variations to the norm and take the risks needed to perform them. In MMA that can be the deciding factor between getting beaten and winning.

It will also get fans wondering if Jung or Poirier have what it takes to beat the champ.

After both men face each other, fans will get to know who the better risk-taker is and who will give Aldo the tougher fight.

After that, it’s up to the UFC to make the fight.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC on FUEL TV 3 Headlined by Dustin Poirier vs. Chan-Sung Jung

The UFC’s return to the Patriot Center in Fairfax, Va. on May 15 now has a main event. Headlining the action for UFC on FUEL TV 3 will be featherweights Dustin Poirier and Chan-Sung Jung. The fight could determine the next to challenge 145-pound divisi…

The UFC’s return to the Patriot Center in Fairfax, Va. on May 15 now has a main event. Headlining the action for UFC on FUEL TV 3 will be featherweights Dustin Poirier and Chan-Sung Jung.

The fight could determine the next to challenge 145-pound divisional kingpin Jose Aldo for UFC gold; however, this bout is only slated for three rounds.

Prior to the promotion officially announcing the bout, Poirier confirmed that fight was happening, proclaiming, “it’s a go” when contacted by Bleacher Report’s Rob Tatum.

Both fighters are undefeated since transitioning to the UFC from the now-defunct WEC organization. 

Jung, better known as the “Korean Zombie” has impressed in his two Octagon appearances with a Submission of the Night performance against Leonard Garcia and a Knockout of the Night showcase against former title challenger Mark Hominick.

Poirier, meanwhile, has put together four straight wins, knocking off highly touted Josh Grispi to kick off 2011—followed by wins over Jason Young, Pablo Garza and Max Holloway.  After the Holloway win, “The Diamond” stated he’d like to face off with Jung, and the UFC was happy to oblige.

Three other bouts have been announced for the event, including lightweights Donald Cerrone and Yves Edwards, light heavyweights Thiago Silva and Igor Pokrajac and middleweights Tom Lawlor and Jason MacDonald.

The remainder of the card is expected to be announced shortly.

 

Rob Tatum is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report MMA. You can also find Rob’s work at TheMMACorner.com.  For anything related to MMA, Follow @RobTatumMMA.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Dustin Poirier’s Twitter Call-Out of Chan Sung Jung Pays Off With UFC on Fuel Bout May 15


(“Like Miesha, Poirier will get to have his cake and eat it too.”)

It looks like the best way to get the UFC’s attention these days is to call out an opponent on Twitter.

Dustin Poirier mentioned via Twitter two days ago that he would like a fight with “The Korean Zombie.” Today UFC officials announced that the pair will square off in the main event of UFC on Fuel 3 May 15 at the Patriot Center in Fairfax, Virginia.


(“Like Miesha, Poirier will get to have his cake and eat it too.”)

It looks like the best way to get the UFC’s attention these days is to call out an opponent on Twitter.

Dustin Poirier mentioned via Twitter two days ago that he would like a fight with “The Korean Zombie.” Today UFC officials announced that the pair will square off in the main event of UFC on Fuel 3 May 15 at the Patriot Center in Fairfax, Virginia.

2-0 in his past two outings, Jung jumped to the front of the featherweight contenders line-up with his dazzling seven-second KO of Mark Hominick at UFC 140 in December. In his other fight last year, he pulled off the ever-elusive Twister submission in March at UFC Fight Night: Nogueira vs. Davis, earning him “Submission of the Night” and “Submission of the Year” nods from the UFC.

Poirier is no slouch himself.

Since upsetting former 145-pound contender Josh Grispi in his UFC Octagon and featherweight debut at UFC 125, “Diamond” has rattled off four straight victories, including an impressive d’arce choke and mounted triangle armbar in his last two outings against Pablo Garza at UFC on Fox: Velasquez vs. Dos Santos  and Max Holloway last weekend at UFC 143. He earned Submission of the Night honors for his most recent win.

The card will also feature the retrun of light heavyweight Thiago Silva, who recently finished serving a one-year suspension for submitting artificial urine for his post-UFC 125 win over Brandon Vera in January 2011. Vera was originally slated to rematch the Brazilian, but was forced to pull out of bout due to injury. Igor Pokrajac has since stepped in to replace “The Truth.’

The only other announce bout thus far is a middleweight scrap between Jason “The Athlete” MacDonald and “Filthy” Tom Lawlor.

UFC on Fuel 3
May 15, 2012
Patriot Center
Fairfax, Virginia

Chan Sung Jung vs. Dustin Poirier
Thiago Silva vs. Igor Pokrajac
Tom Lawlor vs. Jason MacDonald.