Tag: UFC on Fuel 5

UFC on Fuel TV 5 Results: Power Ranking the Main Card Bouts

UFC on Fuel TV: Struve vs. Miocic delivered a fun afternoon of fights.The free card hailing from Nottingham, England featured a mixture of up and comers, veterans, strikers, grapplers and everything in between.The majority of the fights were entertaini…

UFC on Fuel TV: Struve vs. Miocic delivered a fun afternoon of fights.

The free card hailing from Nottingham, England featured a mixture of up and comers, veterans, strikers, grapplers and everything in between.

The majority of the fights were entertaining. It was a great way to wet our appetite as the UFC brings a couple of more cards to the viewing public in the coming weeks.

Of the six main card bouts, only two went to the judges. Fans love finishes and the card delivered.

Here is how the fights stacked up against one another.

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UFC on Fuel TV 5 Results: Recapping the Fight Night Bonuses

Stefan Struve might be for real, folks. A lot of people thought Stipe Miocic was on his way to becoming a serious contender in the heavyweight division, but Struve reminded us that at just 24 years old, he has plenty of room to grow as well. The knocko…

Stefan Struve might be for real, folks.

A lot of people thought Stipe Miocic was on his way to becoming a serious contender in the heavyweight division, but Struve reminded us that at just 24 years old, he has plenty of room to grow as well.

The knockout win over Miocic made it four-straight stoppage victories for “The Skyscraper,” and he’s likely going to get a step up in competition in his next fight.

With a Fight of the Night check headed his way, Struve is in prime position to climb the heavyweight ladder and become a true title threat in the UFC’s heavyweight division.

 

Fight of the Night: Stefan Struve vs. Stipe Miocic

As good as Struve looked in a win, Miocic likely earned a lot of fans during his gritty performance in Nottingham.

Miocic started off strong, but as Struve started to find his range in the second rounds, things went badly for the Ohio native.

Struve landed a big right uppercut that sent Miocic reeling, and, after that, Struve was able to pick away at Miocic’s rocked state, landing a barrage of punches that almost did enough to stop the fight.

Miocic came back with a few big punches of his own, but another flurry from Struve was enough to force referee Herb Dean to stop the fight.

Both of these fighters have a bright future ahead of them, and they put on a show in their first headlining bout.

 

Knockout of the Night: Brad Pickett

Going into this fight, I expected a Fight of the Night contender to emerge.

Instead, Pickett decided he wanted to live up to his moniker in England.

“One Punch” was able to land a solid uppercut right on the chin of an unsuspecting Yves Jabouin, and it left the Canadian bantamweight sprawled out on the canvas.

This is a huge win for Pickett, who has rebounded from a title eliminator loss to Renan Barao with two-straight stoppage wins, and “One Punch” is suddenly back in the mix at 135 lbs.

A Top Five opponent is in order for Pickett, and a win there could land the English fighter a shot at the elusive belt.

 

Submission of the Night: Matt Wiman

As a fight fan, I sometimes tell myself that I’ve learned to expect the unexpected.

It’s guys like Wiman that make me eat my words.

I don’t know if anyone expected Matt Wiman to tap out submission ace Paul Sass, but that’s exactly what Wiman did when he locked in a fight-ending armbar in the first round.

The consistently underrated Wiman has now won five of his last six bouts, and with a win over a highly regarded prospect in Sass, “Handsome” may be close to breaking into the Top Ten in the lightweight rankings.

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UFC on Fuel TV 5 Results: The Real Winners and Losers

I really dig these UFC on Fuel cards. Sure, they lack the big name value and you’ll never see a GSP or Anderson Silva compete on them, but you get to see the top young fighters in the UFC fight in super exciting matchups. That’s what we got this a…

I really dig these UFC on Fuel cards. Sure, they lack the big name value and you’ll never see a GSP or Anderson Silva compete on them, but you get to see the top young fighters in the UFC fight in super exciting matchups. 

That’s what we got this afternoon with UFC on Fuel 5, a.k.a UFC Nottingham. A card headlined by a matchup between two up and coming heavyweights, it was the type of card that was booked to build future meaningful matchups.

That’s not to say this lacked significance. There are several fighters who impressed so much that they may be on the fast track towards title contention. At the very least, they’ll be facing stiffer competition on their way to the top. 

As with every card, there were some big winners and some big losers. Let’s see who walked away with their heads held high and who walked away one step closer to the regional scene. 

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UFC on Fuel TV 5 Results: Did Stefan Struve Do Enough to Earn a Top Ten Ranking?

Stefan Struve did it again, didn’t he?This is a fighter who, quite literally, has never won the first round of any of his UFC fights, so to say he’s a slow starter would be an understatement of the highest order. Struve either uses the first round to f…

Stefan Struve did it again, didn’t he?

This is a fighter who, quite literally, has never won the first round of any of his UFC fights, so to say he’s a slow starter would be an understatement of the highest order. Struve either uses the first round to feel out his opponent or he simply gets beaten around the cage, as seen in his fight with Christian Morecraft. 

But then the second round starts, and things change. Drastically.

That’s what happened at UFC on Fuel 5, where Struve faced Stipe Miocic in a five-round main event that was never going to go five rounds. Miocic gave up serious reach to Struve and yet somehow managed to jab him a bunch of times, and it seemed like it was only a matter of time before Miocic was able to finish the job.

And then the second round started. Miocic was visibly winded, and Struve took immediate advantage, chasing him around the cage and landing tons of power shots. Three minutes and 50 seconds later, Struve landed bomb after bomb while the referee implored Miocic to fight back. But Miocic simply couldn’t fight back, and the fight was called.

Another win for Struve, his fourth in a row. Another comeback win. And another finish.

Struve is now 9-3 in the UFC. He’s only 24 years old, which is pretty incredible if you really think about it. And it seems that now—after all of those fights and some heartbreaking losses—Struve is finally finding himself in the cage. 

But is he a top ten heavyweight? Yeah, I think so. Let’s take a look at my current top 10 heavyweight rankings:

1. Junior dos Santos
2. Cain Velasquez
3. Daniel Cormier
4. Alistair Overeem
5. Fabricio Werdum
6. Frank Mir
7. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
8. Josh Barnett
9. Antonio Silva
10. Mike Russow

It’s a tough thing to figure out where I’d place him. It’ll become easier after next week’s bout between Travis Browne and Antonio Silva, because Browne KO’d Struve last year and you can’t really put him behind the Skyscraper if he beats Silva. A win over Silva would likely move Browne into the rankings for the first time.

But if “Bigfoot” gets the job done and beats Browne, I’ll probably include Struve at No. 10 the next time I have to submit my rankings. And I’d feel comfortable doing it.

At the end of the day, Struve has won four in a row and six of his last seven fights. All of those wins have been finishes of one sort or another. Some of them came over guys who are nowhere near the top ten, but in the heavyweight division, a winning streak is a winning streak. And when you put that winning streak together by submitting and knocking out your opponents, well, it’s going to go a long way.

Struve wants Fabricio Werdum in his next fight. I like the idea. I suggested in my post-fight column that he should fight Josh Barnett in Strikeforce, but I’m fine with Werdum, too. 

But no matter who Struve faces, one thing is clear: he deserves to take a step up in the level of competition he’s facing. If he’s not a top-10 heavyweight right now, then he deserves a chance to prove that he can become one.

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UFC on Fuel TV 5 Results: What’s Next for Amir Sadollah?

Amir Sadollah has had quite a UFC career. After defeating CB Dollaway and becoming the winner of season seven of The Ultimate Fighter, Sadollah immediately became a fighter with a target on his back, and he has responded more often than not. Outside of…

Amir Sadollah has had quite a UFC career.

After defeating CB Dollaway and becoming the winner of season seven of The Ultimate Fighter, Sadollah immediately became a fighter with a target on his back, and he has responded more often than not.

Outside of a controversial knockout loss to Johny Hendricks in his first fight after winning the reality show, Sadollah has been one of the toughest fighters in the UFC’s welterweight division to finish, something that didn’t change in his loss to Dan Hardy at UFC on Fuel 5.

Sadollah was able to stand and trade with a much more powerful striker in Hardy, and he actually won his fair share of the exchanges in the striking department, but Hardy’s raw power in his lead left hook made it seem that he was getting the better of Sadollah.

The fight changed for the worse for Sadollah when he went to get the fight to the mat, an area where many thought he would have the advantage due to his crafty guard and underrated submission skills.

However, Hardy turned the tables on Sadollah and was able to stuff the takedowns of Sadollah and come back and land a few of his own.

The tough loss to Hardy is going to push Sadollah back a bit in the welterweight rankings, but it’s the inconsistency in Sadollah’s record that is going to become an issue soon.

There’s no doubt that Sadollah is a company man and has put on some fun performances during his run inside the Octagon, but his overall UFC record is just 6-4 and with a 1-2 run in his last three fights, Sadollah could be fighting for his job the next time he walks into the cage.

A fight with prospect Stephen Thompson has potential to be fun, but if the UFC wants to give Sadollah an opponent that can match his star power then Yoshihiro Akiyama is the way to go.

A fight between Sadollah and Akiyama would be a ton of fun to watch, but, more importantly, it would prove which one of these fan favorites doesn’t belong inside the Octagon anymore.

It’s a tough situation for Sadollah, but the time has come for him to prove he’s still a threat at 170.

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UFC on Fuel TV 5 Results: 5 Fights for Stefan Struve to Take Next

Saturday at UFC on Fuel TV 5 in Nottingham, England, Stefan Struve finished Stipe Miocic by second-round TKO to become the newest contender in the UFC heavyweight division.After a tentative start, Struve found his range in the second frame, landing fre…

Saturday at UFC on Fuel TV 5 in Nottingham, England, Stefan Struve finished Stipe Miocic by second-round TKO to become the newest contender in the UFC heavyweight division.

After a tentative start, Struve found his range in the second frame, landing frequent jabs and eventually opening up with uppercuts that stunned and ultimately felled Miocic, who, again, showed off his strong chin but could not recover from Skyscraper’s pinpoint power shots.

Here are five fights Struve could take next.

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