Rising star Alexander “The Mauler” Gustafsson will compete in front of his hometown crowd when he faces Antonio Rogerio “Minotoro” Nogueira in the main event of UFC on Fuel TV 2 on April 15th in Stockholm, Sweden. UFC officials announced the light heavyweight headliner earlier today.
Also confirmed for the card is a bantamweight bout between British standout Brad “One Punch” Pickett and fellow former WEC contender Damacio “The Angel of Death” Page. Both fighters will look to rebound from setbacks in their Octagon debuts this past year when they face off in Sweden.
Gustafsson (13-1-0) appears to be on track to become a top contender at 205 pounds after posting four straight stoppage wins in the UFC. His lone career defeat came against unbeaten UFC on FOX 2 main eventer Phil “Mr. Wonderful” Davis. Only one of the talented Swede’s fights has gone the distance and he capped off a solid year with a quick destruction of veteran Vladimir “The Janitor” Matyushenko on December 30th. With strong striking skills and an improving submission game, Gustafsson is one of the UFC’s brighter prospects.
Nogueira (20-5-0) encountered a rough patch with back-to-back losses to Ryan “Darth” Bader and the aforementioned Davis after winning his first two bouts inside the Octagon. The former PRIDE star got back to his winning ways in impressive fashion in December, however, by mauling Tito Ortiz for a first-round TKO stoppage. Nogueira possesses solid technical boxing, but he will have to combat with the speed and reach of the younger Gustafsson when he enters the young star’s hometown in April.
Pickett (20-6-0) won three of his four bouts during his time in the WEC including big wins over the previously unbeaten Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson and veteran Ivan Menjivar. The Brit sat out most of 2011 before returning to action in his native England against Renan “Barao” Pegado at UFC 138. Pegado dominated much of the brief bout and forced Pickett to submit to a rear-naked choke in the later stages of round one. While the loss derailed Pickett’s hopes for title contention, he can get back into the championship hunt with an impressive win.
Page (15-6-0) also had a successful tenure in World Extreme Cagefighting, where he went 3-2 against tough opposition. Page’s biggest win arguably came in his debut for the promotion when he decisioned future title challenger Scott “Young Guns” Jorgensen. The New Mexican has tasted defeat in each of his past two bouts, however, including his UFC debut in a March rematch with former WEC champion Brian Bowles. The hard-hitting Page has finished 14 opponents and he has never been knocked out, but his submission defence has faltered at times.
UFC on Fuel TV 2 takes place on April 15th at the Ericsson Globe Arena in Stockholm, Sweden.
UFC on Fuel TV 2 Fight Card (to date; subject to change):
– Alexander “The Mauler” Gustafsson vs Antonio Rogerio “Minotoro” Nogueira
– “All American” Brian Stann vs Alessio “Legionarius” Sakara
– Siyar “The Great” Bahadurzada vs Paulo Thiago
– Brad “One Punch” Pickett vs Damacio “The Angel of Death” Page
– John “The One” Maguire vs DaMarques “Darkness” Johnson
– Cyrille “The Snake” Diabate vs Jörgen “The Last Viking” Kruth
– Simeon “The Grin” Thoresen vs Besam Yousef
– Francis “Limitless” Carmont vs Magnus “Jycken” Cedenblad
– Papi “Makambo” Abedi vs James Head
(Photo Credit: Sherdog.com)