The Ultimate Fighting Championship travelled back to Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan today for UFC on Fuel TV 8: “Silva vs Stann.” The event was headlined by a light heavyweight showdown between former PRIDE champ Wanderlei “The Axe Murderer” Silva and “All American” Brian Stann.
In the heavyweight co-feature, Mark “Super Samoan” Hunt earned his fourth straight win when he battled Stefan “Skyscraper” Struve. Takanori “Fireball Kid” Gomi took on Diego “The Dream” Sanchez in a lightweight matchup. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for the UFC on Fuel TV 8 card.
Wanderlei “The Axe Murderer” Silva vs “All American” Brian Stann
Round 1:
Stann swarmed with punches early in the fight, but Silva countered with big shots and Stann lost his balance. He stood and the fighters exchanged uppercuts. Stann began to bleed from the bridge of his nose after Silva landed a knee, but he dropped Silva with looping hooks. Silva got back to his feet and circled away. Huge punches were exchanged and both men landed. Silva was rocked again, but he remained on his feet. Time was called after Silva was kicked in the groin.
The fight continued and Stann countered a jab with a right cross. Silva answered back with a right hook and Stann began to throw leg kicks. Stan rushed in with punches that wobbled Silva, but Silva fired back with his back against the cage and Stann face-planted on the mat. He got back to his feet and rocked Silva again with more hard punches. A badly bloodied Stann took Silva down and stayed on top until the bell. Incredible first round. 10-9 Stann.
Round 2:
Stann landed two lunging left hooks in round two and Silva scored with a pair of overhand rights in return. Time was called after Silva was kicked in the groin again. After the restart, Silva landed a right cross and a jab. He threw a head kick that partially landed. A right-left combo sent Stann crashing backwards to the mat and Silva finished him off with vicious right hands on the ground. Huge win for Silva.
Winner: Wanderlei Silva by KO (Punches) at 4:08 of round two. He improves to 35-12-1, 1 NC.
Mark “Super Samoan” Hunt vs Stefan “Skyscraper” Struve
Round 1:
Hunt landed a right hook and a leg kick early in the fight. He followed with a quick one-two to the body. More body punches landed for Hunt and Struve pulled guard. He swept straight into mount, but Hunt did well to get back to half-guard. He tried to explode out to his feet, but Struve kept him down and returned to mount. Struve landed some hard punches and took Hunt’s back, then transitioned to an armbar. He lost it and Hunt wound up on top. Hunt landed a big right hand and tried to pass to side control. He did so late in the round and landed short punches. Very close first round. 10-9 Hunt, barely.
Round 2:
Hunt landed two hard left hooks in the second round and began to land jabs to the jaw of the taller Struve. More left and right hooks scored for Hunt to the head and body of Struve. After a one-two from Hunt, Struve clinched and Hunt threw him to the ground. Struve countered with a toe hold attempt and Hunt spun to escape. He nearly gave up his back, but wound up in Struve’s guard again. Hunt moved to side control, but Struve battled back to his feet and scored a takedown into mount. Struve postured up with punches and elbows, then spun into an armbar. He lost the position and Hunt struck from the top. Another close round. 10-9 Hunt by a slim margin.
Round 3:
Hunt rocked Struve with punches in the final round, but Struve recovered quickly. More kicks landed for Hunt and Struve answered with a head kick. Two hooks backed Struve up and a fatigued Hunt closed in for the kill. A looping right-left combo dropped Struve in a heap against the cage and Hunt walked away. Referee Herb Dean hesitated, but stopped the fight soon after.
Winner: Mark Hunt by TKO (Punches) at 1:44 of round three. He improves to 9-7-0.
Diego “The Dream” Sanchez vs Takanori “Fireball Kid” Gomi
Round 1:
Sanchez circled on the outside early in the fight and threw occasional left hooks. Gomi tagged him with a counter right and time was called after Gomi was kicked in the groin. Action resumed and Sanchez took Gomi down. He landed some solid punches from the top, but Gomi quickly returned to his feet. Sanchez landed two right hooks to the body and Gomi began to stalk him with punches that came up short.
Gomi landed two hooks and a knee, but Sanchez took him down and rolled for a kneebar. Gomi escaped and the fighters stood. Sanchez landed a hard body kick and a right hook as Gomi countered with a body shot. Sanchez slowed down after the strike and Gomi landed a combination. Sanchez kicked to the body and Gomi responded with a kick of his own. Sanchez caught it and tried for a takedown as the close round ended. 10-9 Sanchez.
Round 2:
Gomi targeted the body again with punches in round two. He stuffed a takedown and landed a combination, then followed with jabs. Sanchez attempted a head kick and time was called again after he kicked Gomi in the groin. Sanchez was not deducted a point and the fight continued. Gomi picked his shots with punches to the head and body and avoided Sanchez’s counters.
A right hook from Sanchez led to an exchange of jabs. Gomi began to kick at Sanchez’s lead leg and Sanchez responded with two front kicks to the body. Gomi jabbed again and slipped under punches from Sanchez. A leg kick from Gomi was answered by a body kick from Sanchez. Gomi flurried with punches and Sanchez landed a counter right hook. He rushed in with more punches before the bell. 10-9 Gomi.
Round 3:
Gomi jabbed and mixed up his strikes in the final round. Sanchez landed a stiff jab of his own and the fighters traded hooks. More jabs and short hooks scored for Gomi and Sanchez landed two liver kicks in return. He shot in for a takedown and Gomi stuffed it. Gomi caught a head kick attempt and dumped Sanchez to the mat. He allowed him to stand and countered a leg kick with a looping left hook. Both fighters threw kicks at the same time and Sanchez fell down. He stood up and flurried with punches in the final seconds. 10-9 Gomi.
Winner: Diego Sanchez by Split Decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29) after three rounds. He improves to 24-5-0.
Yushin “Thunder” Okami vs Hector “Lightning” Lombard
Round 1:
Okami caught a kick and took Lombard down in round one, but he could not hold him there for long and Lombard quickly returned to his feet. He landed two hooks and Okami responded with a body kick. Okami countered a right hook with a stiff jab and the fighters traded punches in close. Okami took Lombard back down and worked from half-guard with right hands and elbows. Lombard got back to his feet and Okami landed knees in the clinch. 10-9 Okami.
Round 2:
Okami opened round two with body kicks and he avoided Lombard’s counters. Okami just missed with a knee and landed a one-two. Lombard answered with a hard uppercut, but Okami was unfazed and he took Lombard down. Okami moved to half-guard and Lombard punches to the ribs from the bottom. Okami passed to mount and just missed with a slashing elbow. He landed punches from the top until the bell. 10-9 Okami.
Round 3:
Lombard rocked Okami with punches in the final round, but Okami weathered the storm and stayed on the outside. Lombard closed in and flurried to the body, but Okami answered with a knee. He tried for a takedown and was forced to pull half-guard. Lombard struck from the top until Okami fought back to his knees and tried to reverse into top position. Lombard sprawled to defend. Okami wound up on his back again and Lombard resumed striking from half-guard for the remainder of the round. 10-9 Lombard.
Winner: Yushin Okami by Split Decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29) after three rounds. He improves to 29-7-0.
Rani Yahya vs Mizuto “Pugnus” Hirota
Round 1:
Yahya secured a takedown early in the fight and the fighters scrambled. Yahya wound up on the bottom and he tried for an inverted armbar. Hirota broke free and struck from the top. Yahya got back to his feet and dove at the legs of Hirota before dragging him back down to the mat. Yahya moved to half-guard and threw short elbows. Hirota briefly got back to his feet, but Yahya took him down again. Yahya returned to Hirota’s half-guard and looked to set up a Kimura. He continued to work for the submission until the bell. 10-9 Yahya.
Round 2:
Yahya took the fight to the ground again in round two and worked his way to half-guard near the cage. He passed to mount seconds later and tried for an arm-triangle choke. Hirota held on as Yahya passed to the side to tighten the choke. Yahya eventually let it go and landed punches and elbows from the top. Hirota wrapped Yahya up from the bottom to defend against the strikes, but Yahya was able to land more short punches throughout the final 30 seconds. 10-9 Yahya.
Round 3:
Hirota jabbed and stuffed Yahya’s takedown attempts in the final round. Yahya slowed down and continued to try unsuccessfully to take Hirota down. As Yahya shot in again, Hirota took his back. Yahya escaped and a scramble ensued. From the bottom, Hirota attempted a triangle choke and nearly got it. Yahya escaped the choke and Hirota switched to an armbar. Again, Yahya fought free and he transitioned to Hirota’s back seconds later. Hirota got back to his knees and landed hammerfists. He stood up and rushed in with a knee that just missed. Hirota landed more punches and stalked Yahya until the bell. 10-9 Hirota.
Winner: Rani Yahya by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 18-7-0.
Dong Hyun “Stun Gun” Kim vs Siyar “The Great” Bahadurzada
Round 1:
The fighters traded punches early on and Bahadurzada landed a nice left hook. Kim threw kicks and Bahadurzada answered with a counter right. He caught a kick from Kim and tripped him to the mat briefly. The fight returned to the feet and Kim secured a takedown. He moved straight to mount and landed short left hands. Kim postured up with elbows and took Bahadurzada’s back. Bahadurzada stood and Kim remained on his back. He pulled Bahadurzada down to the mat before the bell. 10-9 Kim.
Round 2:
Bahadurzada pressed the action and used feints in round two. Kim clinched and took Bahadurzada down into side control soon after. He tried to set up a move to mount, but settled for landing short elbows from side control. Bahadurzada attempted to scramble up to his feet, but Kim kept him down on the mat. Kim moved to mount again and punched from the top. He mixed in elbows and switched to a high mount. Kim struck from top position until the end of the round. 10-9 Kim.
Round 3:
Bahadurzada threw looping hooks in the final round until Kim took him down once again. From side control, he used short elbows to set up a move to mount and tried for an arm-triangle choke. Kim landed knees to the body as he worked to lock on the choke. Bahadurzada survived, but Kim postured up in mount and rained down punches and elbows. More punches and elbows scored for Kim and Bahadurzada tried to answer back from the bottom. He scrambled, but Kim wound up on top and stood over Bahadurzada as the round ended. 10-9 Kim.
Winner: Dong Hyun Kim by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) after three rounds. He improves to 17-2-1, 1 ND.
Undercard Fights:
Brad Tavares defeated Riki Fukuda by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 10-1-0 with the win.
Takeya Mizugaki defeated Bryan “Kid Lightning” Caraway by Split Decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29) after three rounds. He improves to 17-7-2 with the win.
Kazuki Tokudome defeated Cristiano Marcello by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) after three rounds. He improves to 12-3-1 with the win.
Alex “Bruce Leeroy” Caceres defeated Kyung Ho “Typhoon” Kang by Split Decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29) after three rounds. He improves to 9-5-0 with the win.
Hyun Gyu “The Ace” Lim defeated Marcelo “Magrao” Guimarães by KO (Knee) at 4:00 of round two. He improves to 11-3-1 with the win.