The Ultimate Fighting Championship travelled to the Ericsson Globe Arena in Stockholm, Sweden tonight for UFC on Fuel TV 2: “Gustafsson vs Silva.” The card was headlined by a light heavyweight bout between hometown favourite Alexander “The Mauler” Gustafsson and Brazil’s Thiago Silva.
Also on the card, middleweight strikers faced off when “All American” Brian Stann battled Alessio “Legionarius” Sakara. Welterweight prospect Siyar “The Great” Bahadurzada made his Octagon debut against Paulo Thiago. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for the UFC on Fuel TV 2 event.
Alexander “The Mauler” Gustafsson vs Thiago Silva
Round 1:
Quick punches were exchanged right away and Gustafsson circled on the outside. He dropped Silva with a right uppercut, but Silva managed to fight back to his feet. Gustafsson flurried with punches and a bloodied Silva retreated. Gustafsson landed one-twos and jabs. Silva finally answered with a combination of his own, but Gustafsson was unfazed.
Both fighters threw right hooks, but neither landed cleanly. Gustafsson stuck to quick one-two combos and Silva turned him around with a leg kick. Gustafsson mixed up his strikes with front kicks, jabs and right hands. He stayed out of Silva’s range and landed more jabs late in the round as the crowd cheered him on. 10-9 Gustafsson.
Round 2:
Gustafsson threw Silva to the mat in round two and stood over him, but little transpired and referee Leon Roberts brought the fight back to the feet. Gustafsson landed punches and followed with a front kick and a body kick. Silva tried to counter with a combination, but came up short. A series of punches backed Silva up to the cage and he circled to the side. A front kick grazed off of the chin of Silva, but the strike appeared to have little effect.
Silva wobbled Gustafsson with a right hook and pressed forward with more punches. Gustafsson quickly recovered and answered with a combination in close. Silva continued to look for a big knockout punch. Gustafsson landed a leg kick and quick jabs. A spinning back kick missed for Gustafsson, but he landed a knee to the body. Stiff jabs were exchanged and Gustafsson landed a front kick in the final ten seconds. 10-9 Gustafsson.
Round 3:
Silva landed a nice leg kick in the final round after a combination from Gustafsson, who kept the pressure on with uppercuts and knees. Silva continued to try to land a right-hand kill shot, but Gustafsson circled on the outside and landed stiff jabs and a knee. A one-two and a leg kick scored for Gustafsson as Silva’s forehead began to swell up.
Gustafsson landed two more leg kicks and continued to pick Silva apart with varied attacks. Leg kicks were exchanged and Gustafsson landed a big knee and a right hook. Silva continued to push forward and he managed to land a right hook. Silva walked Gustafsson down with punches in the final 15 seconds, but Gustafsson countered with strikes of his own. 10-9 Gustafsson.
Winner: Alexander Gustafsson by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 14-1-0.
“All American” Brian Stann vs Alessio “Legionarius” Sakara
Round 1:
Stann landed leg kicks early on and avoided a counter one-two. Sakara landed a lead left hook that set off a big exchange of punches. Sakara was wobbled and Stann dropped him with two big knees and more punches. Sakara recovered on the ground, but Stann struck from the top in his guard. Stann postured up and landed two two left hands that put Sakara out cold. Before referee Marc Goddard could even intervene, Stann stopped punching and indicated that Sakara was out. Impressive win for Stann.
Winner: Brian Stann by KO (Punches) at 2:26 of round one. He improves to 12-4-0.
Siyar “The Great” Bahadurzada vs Paulo Thiago
Round 1:
The fighters circled for the first 30 seconds. Thiago pressed forward with a lunging right-left combination and walked straight into a right cross to the jaw. He fell face-forward to the mat and Bahadurzada walked away, knowing the fight was over. Vicious knockout for the UFC debutant.
Winner: Siyar Bahadurzada by KO (Punch) at 0:42 of round one. He improves to 21-4-1.
Dennis Siver vs Diego “The Gun” Nunes
Round 1:
An exchange of leg kicks opened the fight and Siver flashed out back-to-back head kicks. He closed in with a one-two and briefly muscled Nunes to the ground, but Nunes got back to his feet. A left hook landed for Nunes just as Siver scored with a kick to the body. Nunes took a page out of Siver’s playbook with a spinning back kick to the liver.
More leg kicks were exchanged and Siver landed a nice one-two combination as Nunes pressed forward. Nunes switched stances and attempted a head kick, but Siver blocked it. A quick combination to the head and body scored for Nunes and he landed a series of knees from a Thai clinch in the dying seconds. Very close opening round. 10-10.
Round 2:
Nunes landed leg kicks and just missed with a spinning wheel kick in round two. A spinning back kick to the body connected for Nunes and he avoided a Siver takedown attempt. Nunes threw a front kick and Siver cracked him with a counter right hook. Both men landed left hooks and Nunes kicked to the body again. He avoided a lunging right hand and cirled away.
Time was briefly called after Nunes was kicked in the groin, but action resumed and he tried for a takedown. Siver stuffed it and landed a grazing head kick. Nunes kicked at Siver’s legs and Siver replied with two kicks to the body; the latter of the spinning variety. Both fighters landed leg kicks and Siver followed with a big left hook. Another very close round. 10-9 Nunes, just barely.
Round 3:
Leg kicks and left hooks landed for both fighters at the start of round three. Nunes dropped Siver to a knee with a looping right hook, but Siver quickly recovered and fired off a series of punches over the top as Nunes clinched. Siver landed two right hooks and a leg kick. He remained active with more leg kicks and a left hook. Siver clinched and tried for a takedown, but Nunes stuffed it. Punches were exchanged in close and both men landed.
Nunes secured a Thai clinch and landed knees, but Siver quickly broke away. Siver put together combinations of punches and Nunes landed a leg kick and more knees in return. He managed to open a cut beside Siver’s left eye. Siver ducked under a spinning back kick and clinched. He backed Nunes up to the cage and flurried with punches over the top. Nunes stumbled and fell to a knee. He got back up and Siver flurried to the body before the bell. 10-9 Siver.
Winner: Dennis Siver by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 20-8-0.
John “The One” Maguire vs DaMarques “Darkness” Johnson
Round 1:
Johnson landed a trio of leg kicks to open the fight, but Maguire took him down and fought out of a guillotine choke attempt. Johnson postured for a triangle choke and switched to an omoplata. Maguire rolled to escape and retook top position. He landed short elbows to the head and body and Johnson answered with elbows of his own.
Maguire tried to pass to side control and managed to make it to half-guard. He briefly eyed a far-side Kimura and then passed to side control on the opposite side. Maguire postured up with hammerfists, then worked for a guillotine choke. He took Johnson’s back and tried to set up a rear-naked choke, but time expired. 10-9 Maguire.
Round 2:
Maguire landed an overhand left and scored a takedown in round two, but Johnson immediately swept and landed punches from the top. Maguire attempted a triangle choke and scrambled up to his feet. Johnson landed two hard leg kicks and tried for a guillotine choke. Maguire reversed a clinch against the cage and dumped Johnson to the mat.
Johnson landed some nice elbows from the bottom and looked to use a Kimura to sweep. Maguire held on and prevented Johnson from wrenching his arm behind his back. Maguire threw elbows to the body and spun into a lightning-fast far-side armbar. Johnson had nowhere to go and hastily tapped out.
Winner: John Maguire by Submission (Armbar) at 4:40 of round two. He improves to 18-3-0.
Brad “One Punch” Pickett vs “The Angel of Death” Damacio Page
Round 1:
Both fighters landed big punches right away and Page fell to his back. Pickett dove into his guard with punches, but Page worked for an armbar on the ground and the fighters stood up. Page pushed forward with more punches and Pickett answered back with a combination. Page took Pickett down, but Pickett scrambled up and slammed Page down to the mat.
Pickett avoided a Kimura attempt and landed some hard punches from the top. Pickett kept Page pinned down and threw more punches and slashing elbow strikes. Page looked to isolate an arm for an armbar, but he was unsuccessful. Page eventually worked back to his feet and the fighters traded strikes briefly. Pickett slammed Page back down in the final minute. 10-9 Pickett.
Round 2:
Punches were exchanged to begin round two and Pickett dropped Page with a looping left hook. He dove in with punches on the ground, but Page recovered. Pickett pinned his arm behind his back and teed off with right hands. Page weathered the storm and Pickett transitioned to a guillotine choke. He tried to pull guard with it, but Page escaped and took top position in side control.
Pickett reversed on the ground and tried to put a bloodied Page on his back. Page sat up against the cage and stood up. He landed a knee, but slipped while throwing a right hook. Page stood and ate a pair of uppercuts and follow-up punches. Pickett took his back on the ground and flattened him out. He locked on a rear-naked choke and Page was forced to tap out.
Winner: Brad Pickett by Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) at 4:05 of round two. He improves to 21-6-0.
(Undercard results and play-by-play on Page Two.)