The Ultimate Fighting Championship came to the Ericsson Globe Arena in Stockholm, Sweden today for UFC Fight Night 53: “Nelson vs Story.” The event was headlined by a five-round welterweight bout between Icelandic prospect Gunnar “Gunni” Nelson and hard-hitting Rick “The Horror” Story.
Also on the card, Max “Blessed” Holloway battled hometown favourite Akira Corassani in the featherweight co-feature. Jan Blachowicz made his UFC debut against Ilir “The Sledgehammer” Latifi at 205 pounds and Mike “The Warrior” Wilkinson took on Niklas Bäckström in featherweight action.
Rick “The Horror” Story vs Gunnar “Gunni” Nelson
Round 1:
Story kicked at Nelson’s lead leg in the first minute of the fight and Nelson replied with a head kick attempt. He followed with a body kick and Story continued to target his leg. The fighters clinched and Nelson tripped Story to the mat. Story scrambled up and both men landed knees to the body. Story tripped Nelson with a leg kick and Nelson quickly returned to his feet. Story punched to the body and landed a left hook before the bell. Close round. 10-9 Nelson.
Round 2:
Nelson fell after attempting a spinning wheel kick in round two, but he got back to his feet and landed a right cross. Story began to bleed from beside the right eye, but he landed quick combinations to the head and body. A liver kick and a lead right hook scored for Story, but Nelson replied with a pair of overhand rights. Nelson countered a leg kick with a nice left hand, but Story backed him up with a trio of left hooks late in the round. 10-9 Story.
Round 3:
Nelson briefly took Story down in round three, but he could not hold him there for long. Story stood and Nelson landed a left hook and a knee. Story answered back with hooks to the head and body. Big punches connected for both fighters and Nelson kicked to the body. Nelson attempted a head kick and Story fired right back with a powerful left hook. A series of crisp combinations scored for Story in the final minute. 10-9 Story.
Round 4:
Story got the better of the striking exchanges early in round four by landing straight punches and avoiding Nelson’s hooks. He dropped Nelson with a left hook and followed with more punches on the ground. Nelson covered up and eventually kicked Story off. Back on the feet, Story stuffed a takedown and he landed uppercuts and overhand punches in the clinch. Story continued to mix things up with punches to the body and head. One-twos and more hooks scored for Story late in the round. 10-9 Story.
Round 5:
Story opened round five with a lunging left hook and Nelson missed with a rushing elbow. Story ducked under Nelson’s punches and countered with one-twos. Nelson snuck in a combination and Story began to bleed more heavily from beside the eye and along the hairline. Story responded with leg kicks and two hard left hands. Right hooks from Nelson were countered by flurries to the body from Story. Late in the round, Story’s left hooks kept him in control of the striking exchanges and he backed Nelson up against the cage with a flurry before the bell. 10-9 Story.
Winner: Rick Story by Split Decision (50-44, 49-46, 47-48) after five rounds. He improves to 18-8-0.
Max “Blessed” Holloway vs Akira Corassani
Round 1:
Holloway landed a nice body kick in the opening seconds and the fighters traded hard punches in close. Corassani connected with an overhand right and he followed with more right hands. Both men landed leg kicks and Holloway narrowly missed with a head kick. He flurried with punches and dropped Corassani with a big right hook. Corassani managed to get back to his feet as Holloway teed off with punches and the fighters clinched. Holloway floored Corassani against the base of the cage with another right hand and he landed a barrage of punches until the fight was stopped.
Winner: Max Holloway by KO (Punches) at 3:11 of round one. He improves to 11-3-0.
Jan Blachowicz vs Ilir “The Sledgehammer” Latifi
Round 1:
Latifi ducked under an early head kick and Blachowicz followed with a chopping leg kick. Two hard left hooks scored for Latifi and Blachowicz circled away. He hurt Latifi with a kick to the liver and just missed with a head kick as an ailing Latifi kneeled down. Blachowicz landed a series of punches as Latifi turtled and the fight was waved off.
Winner: Jan Blachowicz by TKO (Kick To The Body & Punches) at 1:58 of round one. He improves to 18-3-0.
Mike “The Warrior” Wilkinson vs Niklas Bäckström
Round 1:
Bäckström opened the fight with leg kicks and spinning back kicks as Wilkinson looked to close the distance. Bäckström landed a head kick and two big knees, but Wilkinson floored him with a massive right hook. Bäckström was unconscious before he even hit the mat and Wilkinson unloaded with more punches until the referee dove in to stop the brief fight.
Winner: Mike Wilkinson by KO (Punches) at 1:19 of round one. He improves to 9-1-0.
Undercard Fights:
– Magnus “Jycken” Cedenblad defeated Scott Askham by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 13-4-0 with the win.
– Nicholas “Nico” Musoke defeated Alexander “The Thunder of the North” Yakovlev by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) after three rounds. He improves to 13-3-0, 1 NC with the win.
– Dennis Siver defeated Charles “The Boston Strangler” Rosa by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) after three rounds. He improves to 22-9-0, 1 NC with the win.
– Cathal “The Punisher” Pendred defeated Gasan “Cobra” Umalatov by Split Decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29) after three rounds. He improves to 15-2-1 with the win.
– Krzysztof Jotko defeated Tor “The Hammer” Troéng by Unanimous Decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27) after three rounds. He improves to 15-1-0 with the win.
– Mairbek “Beckan” Taisumov defeated Marcin “Bomba” Bandel by TKO (Punches) at 1:01 of round one. He improves to 22-5-0 with the win.
– Zubaira “Warrior” Tukhugov defeated Ernest “E.J.” Chavez by TKO (Punches) at 4:21 of round one. He improves to 17-3-0 with the win.