The Ultimate Fighting Championship made its way to the Capital FM Arena in Nottingham, England tonight for UFC on Fuel TV 5: “Struve vs Miocic.” The event was headlined by a heavyweight matchup between submission specialist Stefan “Skyscraper” Struve and unbeaten prospect Stipe Miocic.
Also on the card, Nottingham’s own Dan “The Outlaw” Hardy battled Amir Sadollah in one featured welterweight bout. In other 170-pound action, John “The Hitman” Hathaway squared off against John “The One” Maguire. MMARising.com has play-by-play for tonight’s UFC on Fuel TV 5 event.
Stefan “Skyscraper” Struve vs Stipe Miocic
Round 1:
Miocic opened the action with a one-two and a pair of jabs in the early goings. He continued to flurry with punches and Struve countered with kicks. Miocic began to target the body with his punches and he landed more overhand rights to the jaw. Struve threw a head kick and missed with a follow-up flying knee. A knee partially landed for Struve and Miocic countered with punches.
Struve threw another knee, but fell to the mat and tried to latch on to a leg for a heel hook. Miocic walked away and Struve stood up. Miocic landed a quick combo and avoided a knee. He threw a right hook to the body and caught a kick. Struve landed a knee and walked forward with a chopping leg kick. Miocic landed a stiff jab before the bell. 10-9 Miocic.
Round 2:
Struve landed a nice body kick to begin round two and time was briefly called after Miocic was kicked in the groin. The fight resumed and Miocic flurried with punches. He avoided a clinch attempt from Struve, but Struve landed an uppercut seconds later. Struve jabbed and Miocic landed left hooks to the head and body. Struve became more active with his strikes and landed a combination of his own. Big punches landed for both fighters, but Struve got the better of the exchange and Miocic was forced to retreat.
Miocic recovered, but Struve backed him up again with an uppercut and a right hook. Miocic landed a hard one-two and sent Struve off-balance with a right hand over the top. Struve wobbled Miocic with an uppercut, hook combo. Miocic stayed on his feet, but Struve badly hurt him with another barrage of punches that included more hooks and uppercuts. Miocic fell to a knee and referee Herb Dean finally intervened to stop the fight.
Winner: Stefan Struve by TKO (Punches) at 3:50 of round two. He improves to 25-5-0.
Dan “The Outlaw” Hardy vs Amir Sadollah
Round 1:
Sadollah landed quick leg kicks and punching combinations in the opening round as the crowd cheered loudly for Hardy. A head kick partially landed for Sadollah and Hardy answered back with a counter elbow and two left hooks. Hardy threw another left hook, but Sadollah countered well with a pair of overhand rights and a leg kick.
Hardy began to pick his shots with single punches and Sadollah returned fire with a rushing right hand. He clinched and pushed Hardy up against the cage. Hardy reversed the clinch and threw knees to the body. Sadollah punched free of the clinch, but Hardy tagged him with a combination that set off an exchange of power punches. Hardy landed a standing elbow and a knee and avoided a late takedown attempt. Close round. 10-9 Sadollah, barely.
Round 2:
Hardy was aggressive with punches to begin the second round and Sadollah answered with a leg kick and a stiff jab. Hardy scored with a left hook and a one-two and he remained the aggressor as the round progressed. A big right hand landed for Hardy and he mixed up his strikes with punches and body kicks. Hardy took Sadollah down near the cage. Sadollah stood and landed knees to the body.
Sadollah used a quick combination to force Hardy to back up, but Hardy put together more one-two combos and left hooks. He took Sadollah down again and punched from the top. Sadollah tried to set up an armbar from the bottom, but Hardy stood to escape. He shrugged off a Sadollah upkick and closed out the round with punches and elbows. 10-9 Hardy.
Round 3:
A left hook, leg kick combo from Hardy opened round three and he clinched against the cage seconds later. Sadollah tried for a trip takedown and Hardy stayed on his feet. A bloodied Sadollah backed away and the fighters traded punches. Hardy put Sadollah against the fence once more. Sadollah circled out, but he fell after Hardy countered a head kick with a right hook.
Sadollah stood and Hardy promptly took him down. Sadollah worked for a triangle choke and an armbar, but Hardy elbowed his way out. Sadollah began to bleed from another cut and Hardy continued to punish him with strikes from the top. Big elbows scored for Hardy until Sadollah managed to battle back to his feet. Hardy landed a quick combination and the fight ended in the clinch. 10-9 Hardy.
Winner: Dan Hardy by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 25-10-0, 1 NC.
Brad “One Punch” Pickett vs Yves “Tiger” Jabouin
Round 1:
Pickett looked to land big punches right away, but time was called after he was poked in the eye. Action resumed and the fighters traded punching combinations. A hard knee scored for Jabouin, but Pickett walked right through it and continued to throw punches. Pickett landed a left hook and Jabouin countered with a right hand and a head kick.
Another solid knee scored for Jabouin, but his strikes seemed to have little effect on Pickett. A one-two backed Jabouin up and Pickett kept the pressure on with an uppercut in close. Jabouin landed a grazing spinning back kick and Pickett clinched. Jabouin shrugged him off, but Pickett knocked knocked him out cold with a devastating uppercut.
Winner: Brad Pickett by KO (Punch) at 3:40 of round one. He improves to 22-6-0.
“Handsome” Matt Wiman vs Paul “Sassangle” Sass
Round 1:
Sass caught a kick and took Wiman down early in the fight. He landed some solid punches and a big elbow from the top, then dropped back for a heel hook. Wiman escaped and took top position. Sass immediately trapped him in an omoplata and he used it to sweep. Sass again looked for a heel hook and Wiman countered with a triangle choke.
Sass stood to escape the triangle and rained down big punches. Wiman postured for an armbar from the bottom and Sass got a knee in to defend. Wiman passed Sass’s knee and got to side control, then wrenched back on the armbar and Sass was forced to submit.
Winner: Matt Wiman by Submission (Armbar) at 3:48 of round one. He improves to 15-6-0.
John “The Hitman” Hathaway vs John “The One” Maguire
Round 1:
Maguire landed leg kicks in the opening seconds and Hathaway fired back with a right cross and a head kick. Hathaway punched his way in close, but Maguire circled away to avoid a knee. The fighters traded punches and Maguire cracked Hathaway with a nice left hook. Hathaway landed another head kick and a knee. The fighters traded more punches and Hathaway continued to mix up his strikes.
Maguire kept his distance and avoided lunging uppercuts from Hathaway. A brief exchange in close saw both fighters land before Maguire circled out. Hathaway tripped Maguire to the mat, but lost his balance on the way down and Maguire quickly returned to his feet. Maguire landed a swift one-two and tried for a takedown of his own. Hathaway reversed and Maguire landed a knee on the way up. 10-9 Hathaway.
Round 2:
Hathaway threw jabs and leg kicks to keep Maguire at bay in round two and followed with a head kick. He took Maguire down and struck from the top in half-guard. Maguire eventually kicked Hathaway off and attempted a triangle choke, but Hathaway passed back to half-guard again. Hathaway landed short strikes from the top throughout the round and repeatedly passed Maguire’s guard each time Maguire kicked him off. The round ended with Hathaway kicking at Maguire’s legs. 10-9 Hathaway.
Round 3:
Hathaway landed more jabs and leg kicks in the final round and just missed with a step-in knee. An overhand right scored for Hathaway, but the offence slowed from both fighters. Hathaway threw a head kick and a right cross and the crowd booed the lack of action. Maguire managed to take Hathaway down and he landed short elbows from side control. Hathaway regained full guard and landed upkicks before the final bell. Close round. 10-9 Hathaway.
Winner: John Hathaway by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) after three rounds. He improves to 17-1-0.
“Beautiful” Che Mills vs Duane “Bang” Ludwig
Round 1:
Mills countered an early right hook from Ludwig with uppercuts in close. He took Ludwig down and landed in side control. Ludwig briefly scrambled up, but ate a knee and fell to the ground again. Mills threw elbows from the top and kept Ludwig pinned down. Ludwig fought back to guard and Mills landed punches.
Ludwig stood again and Mills drilled him with a knee. Ludwig awkwardly fell to the mat and immediately pointed to his left knee to indicate that he had suffered an injury. The bout was waved off, giving Mills the TKO win.
Winner: Che Mills by TKO (Knee Injury) at 2:28 of round one. He improves to 15-5-0, 1 NC.
Undercard Results:
Jimi “The Poster Boy” Manuwa defeated Kyle “Kingsbu” Kingsbury by TKO (Doctor Stoppage) at 5:00 of round two. He improves to 12-0-0 with the win.
Akira Corassani defeated Andy “The Little Axe” Ogle by Split Decision (29-28, 29-28, 27-30) after three rounds. He improves to 10-3-0, 1 NC with the win.
Brad Tavares defeated Tom “Kong” Watson by Split Decision (30-27, 29-28, 28-29) after three rounds. He improves to 9-1-0 with the win.
Gunner “Gunni” Nelson defeated DaMarques “Darkness” Johnson by Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) at 3:34 of round one. He improves to 10-0-1 with the win.
Robbie “Problems” Peralta defeated Jason “Shotgun” Young by KO (Punches) at 0:23 of round one. He improves to 16-3-0, 1 NC with the win.