After scoring a brutal KO over Stefan Struve at UFC on Fuel 8, Mark Hunt isn’t going to have to wait very long to find out who his next opponent should be, and if the gods are fair and just, said opponent will be Roy Nelson. When Mark Hunt came i…
After scoring a brutal KO over Stefan Struve at UFC on Fuel 8, Mark Hunt isn’t going to have to wait very long to find out who his next opponent should be, and if the gods are fair and just, said opponent will be Roy Nelson.
When Mark Hunt came into the UFC, he didn’t make such a good first impression. That happens when you lose to Sean McCorkle, a man who seems equal parts fighter and court jester.
But since then, Hunt has racked up four straight wins (three by KO/TKO), and given the current state of the division, it’s time to see if he’s got what it takes to really be a legitimate contender.
And the perfect test for him would be Roy “Big Country” Nelson.
Nelson is slated to face Cheick Kongo at UFC 159 and if wins and is in relative good health, a bout against Hunt would not only be entertaining as hell, but good for all the real reasons why fights should “make sense.”
Brian Stann was supposed to fly out of Japan with a legend’s designation newly printed at the top of his resume. A check mark establishing his bona fides, a way to bolster his own legacy. Instead he’s leaving with his name on a legend’s CV, somewhere b…
Brian Stann was supposed to fly out of Japan with a legend’s designation newly printed at the top of his resume. A check mark establishing his bona fides, a way to bolster his own legacy. Instead he’s leaving with his name on a legend’s CV, somewhere between YukiKondo and KiyoshiTamura, just another man on a long list of Wanderlei Silva‘s victims.
How did it come to this? How did Silva, widely dismissed by critics like me, put another notch on his pistol grip, outslugging the younger and supposedly sharper fighter?
The answer is “the moment.” More specifically, how easily Stann got caught up in it. Silva was everything critics thought he might be—flat footed, he winged hooks, waited for a smart fighter like Stann to control the distance, zoom leg kicked in and landed straight punches into the heart of the Silva storm.
But instead of trying to beat Wanderlei Silva, Stann got caught up in the moment trying to be Wanderlei Silva. He pounced when he smelled blood—pure Marine aggression. There were no more tactics, not after the first time he hit Silva. There was only bloodlust and animal rage. And that’s just the kind of fight Wanderlei Silva wants.
After the fight he paid Stann a compliment—one that inadvertently explained how he was able to pull out the upset of the night.
“He’s a strong guy. A warrior. He came to fight,” Silva said at the postfight press conference. “No going away. No going around. He met me there, to do the job. I like to fight guys like that.”
Run that tape back and listen again. “I like to fight guys like that.” If your opponent is giving you the faintest of praise like that, you’ve probably had a very bad night.
Sure Stann now has his name chiseled on a mythical tablet of “warriors” and guys who “bring it.” But, I suspect he wanted to walk away with more than that. He had opportunity in his hands and let it go, all in pursuit of something that was never to be.
You could see the pain written on his face as he faced the music with Jon Anik after the fight. He hadn’t processed the bout then—he was still clearing the cobwebs. By the time MMA Junkie got to him, he understood exactly why he lost the fight:
I’m obviously heartbroken. It was a good, tough fight, and I abandoned my plan a little bit by getting overaggressive. I think the fact that I hurt him early multiple times, it made me get overaggressive, leaving me susceptible to what he’s best at, which is throwing a hard, overhand right.
Contrary to popular belief, you only rarely fight fire with fire. It’s much more effective to use baking soda or a fire extinguisher. Stann tried to play Silva’s game, stood right in front of him, winging his own punches in.
For a time, it worked. He cornered the bear. And, like that, with one right hand and some furious ground and pound, he was on the wrong side of history.
All quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.
UFC on Fuel 8 in Japan was an interesting card, hosting a number of contenders. When it was all said and done, $50,000 was handed out to the guys who put out the best fight, knockout and submission.Headliner Wanderlei Silva doubled up.As you will see, …
UFC on Fuel 8 in Japan was an interesting card, hosting a number of contenders. When it was all said and done, $50,000 was handed out to the guys who put out the best fight, knockout and submission.
Headliner Wanderlei Silva doubled up.
As you will see, the fight night bonuses went in favor of the former Pride champion. Here is a recap of the fight night bonuses.
WanderleiKOs American Hero
Brian Stann and his great military stories looked like they would capture a victory in Japan. Then Wanderlei Silva decided to spoil the party.
A solid combination ended talks of a Stann win and a Silva retirement. The knockout artist stuck to his guns and delivered a devastating KO to a guy many considered a top fighter at 185.
That beauty of a knockout earned the former Pride champ a $50,000 addition to his paycheck. That will be a nice chunk of change to make sure his ax stays on the grinder.
Hunt Shares Honor with “Axe Murderer”
No submissions were had on the Japan card, so Mark Hunt earned “co-Knockout of the Night” honors. The Samoan striker made sure he blasted Dutch giant Stefan Struve with a nasty punch that put the big man to sleep.
Many believed Struve‘s ground game would overwhelm the Australian transplant, but he survived. Not only did he survive, but dished out a devastating finish that would have had most calling the doctor.
It was a big win for the knockout machine.
Stann and Silva Have Best Fight of the Night
Japan had some solid fights, but none compared to Brian Stann vs. Wanderlei Silva.
Two strikers engaged and one went down. Luckily for Silva, the former Marine was the man hit the mat.
It was a fun fight that reminded fans that Silva is a nasty dude. Even though Stann dominated the first round, his chin could not withstand a Silva flurry.
Even though he lost, Stann got a compensatory check. That’s got to heal the wound Silva inflicted.
Wanderlei Silva made his MMA return to Japan on Saturday night for UFC on Fuel 8. But it wasn’t just Wanderlei Silva who returned and fought Brian Stann—Stann got locked in the cage with “The Axe Murderer.”The epic back-and-forth main event saw b…
Wanderlei Silva made his MMA return to Japan on Saturday night for UFC on Fuel 8. But it wasn’t just Wanderlei Silva who returned and fought Brian Stann—Stann got locked in the cage with “The Axe Murderer.”
The epic back-and-forth main event saw both men have their moments, with each dropping the other numerous times in the first round and a good-sized cut opening up on Stann‘s nose. Harnessing the glory from his Pride days, Silva eventually knocked out Stann in what can only be described as an early Fight of the Year candidate.
There was a lot of discussion that this could have been Silva’s final fight if he were to lose, but this kind of victory certainly changes that discussion. So what’s next for the former middleweight champion of Pride?
Here are three potential options for Silva going forward.
After being told that Fuel TV seems to feature some of the worst UFC cards, I found myself wondering if there was any validity in that statement.I can recall being a bit underwhelmed by UFC on Fuel TV 6 and 7, but outside of that I don’t immediat…
After being told that Fuel TV seems to feature some of the worst UFC cards, I found myself wondering if there was any validity in that statement.
I can recall being a bit underwhelmed by UFC on Fuel TV 6 and 7, but outside of that I don’t immediately recall any overtly miserable events.
Curiosity got the better of me, and I found myself gazing at statistical numbers provided by Sherdog.com. After some research, I’m not entirely certain I agree with my buddy (who will remain nameless out of simple respect) and his harsh assessment.
That said, his statement isn’t completely outlandish. Fuel TV has had a few lackluster cards that produced far more drawn-out distance fights than dynamic finishes.
In fact, When combined, the first eight UFC on Fuel TV events have yielded a total of 49 decisions (50 excluding the categorization of a “no contest” in this article’s instance) in 87 matches. That’s a 56.3 percent decision rate, 57.4 if you categorize UFC on Fuel 7’s no contest between Matt Riddle and Che Mills a decision.
That’s a lot of fights landing in the ever-unreliable judges’ hands.
UFC on Fuel TV 3, 7 and 8 make up for a sizable chunk of that figure, as the three events combined produced a total of 24 decisions for 27.5 percent, or 28.7 if you work Riddle’s no contest against Mills into the equation.
In contrast, a total of 20 fights (for a 22.9 percentage) have ended via technical knockout or knockout.
16 total fights (18.3 percent) ended by way of submission.
Check out an individual event breakdown as well as total number breakdown and a few fun facts from the first eight UFC on Fuel TV events.
Total Fights: 87 Total Decisions: 49 (56.3 percent) Total (T)KOs: 20 (22.9 percent) Total Submissions: 16 (18.3 percent) Total No Contest: 2 (2.2 percent)
Random Facts
Brad Tavares has fought on three Fuel events. He’s undefeated in the process (3-0). All three fights went the distance.
Of the eight Fuel events broadcast thus far, four main events (UFC on Fuel TV 3, 5, 6 and 8) have ended in upset victories.
All four of those upsets came via stoppage. Chan Sung Jung submitted Dustin Poirier at UFC on Fuel TV 3, Stefan StruveTKOdStipeMiocic at UFC on Fuel TV 5, Cung Le knocked Rich Franklin out at UFC on Fuel TV 6 and tonight Wanderlei Silva rendered Brian Stann unconscious with strikes.
UFC on Fuel TV 8 gave way to the first defeat for Stefan Struve in three Fuel TV appearances. The defeat also brought a four-fight winning streak to a sudden and violent halt.
Wanderlei’s third win in five fights was also his third consecutive upset victory. In addition to tonight’s upset, he also shocked Cung Le at UFC 139 and Michael Bisping at UFC 110.
If you dozed off somewhere between the UFC on Fuel 8 preliminary card fights and the main card fights I can’t say I blame you, but I hope you woke up in time to see the last two fights on the main card.The bouts between Stefan Struve and Mark Hun…
If you dozed off somewhere between the UFC on Fuel 8 preliminary card fights and the main card fights I can’t say I blame you, but I hope you woke up in time to see the last two fights on the main card.
The bouts between Stefan Struve and Mark Hunt and Wanderlei Silva and Brian Stann saved what was shaping up to be a pretty lackluster event.
Things started off promising with a second-round knockout to open the card, but they slowed down after that, as the next eight fights ended in decisions.
The action picked up for the co-main event as Stefan Struve and Mark Hunt scrapped through an interesting bout, but even that looked like it was going to end in disappointment when the two came out in the third round looking pretty much spent.
Mark Hunt’s heavy hands were able to bring some excitement back into that one as he dropped Struve and pulled a walk-off move, which looked to confuse referee Herb Dean for a second, as he had not waved off the fight at that point.
The main event built on that bout as Wanderlei Silva and Brian Stann did exactly what everyone expected them to do: Stand and throw until one of them fell to the ground.
Silva was the one who was left standing as the crowd in Japan celebrated the former Pride star’s “Knockout of the Night” victory.
Brian