A magnificently boisterous and educated Stockholm crowd that did Sweden proud. It also seemed like every fighter was giving everything they had for the raucous crowd making it a great night of fights. Mike Goldberg said "slip n' rip" 4 times by my count so thats 4 shots for the kids playing at home. Kenny Florian was back to the top of his game filling in for Joe Rogan and even "Goldie" showed improvement until he got lazy for the "Main Event" using the Jon Jones comparison ad nauseam.
Alexander Gustafsson defeated Thiago Silva by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) in an impressive performance as advertised. It was all pretty much as expected as the crowd roared with chants of "Al-lex, Al-lex," and their homeland hero delivered with a steady jab and lightning fast striking in and out mixing in much movement and not allowing Silva to stay near him. Thiago did the "gong & dash" but a quick knockdown from a Gustafsson uppercut slowed his pace at 1st. The "Mauler" just used his length to perfection and showed the lateral movement of his mentor Bantamweight Champion Dominick Cruz while Silva flailed missing and not getting the takedowns he needed to compete. Thiago was never out of the fight continually coming forward earning a black eye and a cut above his forehead but never hurt the Swede who danced his way to victory.
* Despite all the lazy comparisons to Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones, Gustaffson has a ways to go before he attains the top level and a title shot is farther away than many think. Alex didn't get his ground game tested where he has struggled in the past and though this victory is solid, he hasn't exactly faced the greatest of competition if you look at his record. It is time to step up to the big leagues but I'm not sure he is ready for Lyoto Machida, Mauricio Rua and Quinton Jackson, so I'm more thinking of a Ryan Bader.
** Thiago showed well tonight and especially after a year layoff. The steroid thing still irks me but I can't help but root for the guy who has the old school "kill you" stare and always attack mentality. There are lots of interesting fights for Silva but I'd like to see him face the man he replaced tonight in Antonio Rogerio Nogueira or the necessary rematch with Brandon Vera provided the "Truth" can stay healthy for more than 5 minutes.
Brian Stann KO'd Alessio Sakara tapping the glass jaw at 2:26 into the 1st round. I have never understood how Sakara stayed employed with Zuffa this long but this has got to be the end of the road. Stann just leveled him with standing Thai clinch knees and when the "All-American" followed him to the ground, a couple of pithy punches broke Sakara's beard rendering him unconscious. No surprises here as Stann gets the confidence building win.
Siyar Bahadurzada KO'd Paulo Thiago with one punch 0:42 into the 1st round! Thiago made the rookie mistake of running with all his force at his opponent who landed a short right hand on the button. Paulo's body was limp before he hit the mat and Siyar simply raised his hands in victory and walked away. Impressive win for Bahadurzada being the 1st man to stop Thiago who granted made a giant mistake, and there are endless great bouts for Siyar at Welterweight. "KO Of The Night"
Dennis Siver bested Diego Nunes by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) to make a successful Featherweight debut. Ze German looked just fine at Featherweight after a rough 1st cut but somebody has got to teach Nunes to let his offense go. The Brazilian just watches his opponents too much and likes to avoid strikes putting his hands down safely as if that would earn him some magical points in the eyes of the judges. Siver was steady in his attack not really doing anything stellar but making his 145 debut a success none the less and putting himself right in the Top 10 Featherweights.
John Maguire tapped DaMarques Johnson by Armbar in the 2nd round. Oh DaMarques, how you continue to make stupid mistakes. Johnson was doing just fine looking for the Kimura when he stepped over his opponent who took the opportunity to grab a limb for the standard Armbar submission. Embarrassing for Johnson but a nice win for Maguire as "Gypsy Jiu-Jitsu" is in the house! "Submission Of The Night"
Brad Pickett tapped Damacio Page with the RNC in the 2nd round of an uber exciting bout. The "Angel Of Death" brought the heat as he always does throwing everything imaginable. Pickett just weathered the storm working in his technically better striking and showing a bit of that "One Punch" power. An accumulation of damage plus a wicked uppercut and left hook dropped Page who tried to defend but found himself trapped in the RNC getting Pickett back on the winning track. "Fight Of The Night"
James Head submits Papy Abedi with the aforementioned RNC in the very 1st round while managing to unsportsmanlike in victory. OMG Papy shat the bed again. Abedi was controlling things early (again) when he got wild and careless (again) allowing the giant Welterweight James to land three consecutive right hooks in a row. Papy fell to the mat confused and Head sunk in the choke for the victory. Then, James kicked away his defeated opponent in arrogant fashion and taunted the Swedish crowd with a moronic Hulk Hogan impersonation. That was completely unnecessary and shitty for no reason.
Cyrille Diabate defeated Tom DeBlass via Majority Decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-28). DeBlass looked like a midget next to the "Snake" but he controlled the 1st round grounding Cyrille. Both men had their moments on the ground in the 2nd but Diabate ended the round with some G&P which most likely gave him the 2nd. In the final round, BeBlass seemed to be draining his gas tank as Cyrille controlled him with ground striking. It wasn't amazing on either side but should have been a clear cut victory for the "Snake" but he gets a "W" none the less.
Francis Carmont submits Magnus Cedenblad by RNC in the 2nd round. Cedenblad gave a lackadaisical Carmont all he could handle early gaining mount and threatening with the RNC in the 1st round. Francis survived and GSP calmed his fighter between rounds. In the 2nd Francis hit the takedown early and worked into mount unloading G&P where he finished with the RNC. A nice wake up call for Carmont who learned a valuable lesson about taking opponents lightly. Still a ton of upside for the Tri-Star fighter in the future.
Simeon Thoresen defeated Besam Ypusef with the move of the night, the RNC. Thor has a crazy reach (79 inches the most at Welterweight) but used the ground game to his advantage taking things to the mat. Yousef stayed very busy from his back until an odd standup by the referee. Besam just did not stop throwing whether standing or grounded but in the 2nd round but a short uppercut hurt Yousef and both men went to the mat. Simeon held on and utilized the G&P taking his opponents back and choking out Besam in a great back and forth bout. Another solid fight where I'd like to see both fighters in the Octagon again!
Jason Young defeated Eric Wisely via Unanimous Decision (30-28, 29-28, 29-28).
Reza Madadi tapped Yoislandy Izquierdo with a Guillotine Choke in the 2nd round. Izquierdo gave "Mad Dog" all he could handle but when Madadi locked on the choke for the 2nd time he would not let it go without a tap. Very nice fight and I'd like to see both fighters again.
Brian Stann KO'd Alessio Sakara tapping the glass jaw at 2:26 into the 1st round. I have never understood how Sakara stayed employed with Zuffa this long but this has got to be the end of the road. Stann just leveled him with standing Thai clinch knees and when the "All-American" followed him to the ground, a couple of pithy punches broke Sakara's beard rendering him unconscious. No surprises here as Stann gets the confidence building win.
* Next up for Brian should be a top level guy like Yushin Okami or the winner of Wanderlei Silva vs Vitor Belfort 2.
Siyar Bahadurzada KO'd Paulo Thiago with one punch 0:42 into the 1st round! Thiago made the rookie mistake of running with all his force at his opponent who landed a short right hand on the button. Paulo's body was limp before he hit the mat and Siyar simply raised his hands in victory and walked away. Impressive win for Bahadurzada being the 1st man to stop Thiago who granted made a giant mistake, and there are endless great bouts for Siyar at Welterweight. "KO Of The Night"
Dennis Siver bested Diego Nunes by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) to make a successful Featherweight debut. Ze German looked just fine at Featherweight after a rough 1st cut but somebody has got to teach Nunes to let his offense go. The Brazilian just watches his opponents too much and likes to avoid strikes putting his hands down safely as if that would earn him some magical points in the eyes of the judges. Siver was steady in his attack not really doing anything stellar but making his 145 debut a success none the less and putting himself right in the Top 10 Featherweights.
John Maguire tapped DaMarques Johnson by Armbar in the 2nd round. Oh DaMarques, how you continue to make stupid mistakes. Johnson was doing just fine looking for the Kimura when he stepped over his opponent who took the opportunity to grab a limb for the standard Armbar submission. Embarrassing for Johnson but a nice win for Maguire as "Gypsy Jiu-Jitsu" is in the house! "Submission Of The Night"
Brad Pickett tapped Damacio Page with the RNC in the 2nd round of an uber exciting bout. The "Angel Of Death" brought the heat as he always does throwing everything imaginable. Pickett just weathered the storm working in his technically better striking and showing a bit of that "One Punch" power. An accumulation of damage plus a wicked uppercut and left hook dropped Page who tried to defend but found himself trapped in the RNC getting Pickett back on the winning track. "Fight Of The Night"
James Head submits Papy Abedi with the aforementioned RNC in the very 1st round while managing to unsportsmanlike in victory. OMG Papy shat the bed again. Abedi was controlling things early (again) when he got wild and careless (again) allowing the giant Welterweight James to land three consecutive right hooks in a row. Papy fell to the mat confused and Head sunk in the choke for the victory. Then, James kicked away his defeated opponent in arrogant fashion and taunted the Swedish crowd with a moronic Hulk Hogan impersonation. That was completely unnecessary and shitty for no reason.
Cyrille Diabate defeated Tom DeBlass via Majority Decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-28). DeBlass looked like a midget next to the "Snake" but he controlled the 1st round grounding Cyrille. Both men had their moments on the ground in the 2nd but Diabate ended the round with some G&P which most likely gave him the 2nd. In the final round, BeBlass seemed to be draining his gas tank as Cyrille controlled him with ground striking. It wasn't amazing on either side but should have been a clear cut victory for the "Snake" but he gets a "W" none the less.
Francis Carmont submits Magnus Cedenblad by RNC in the 2nd round. Cedenblad gave a lackadaisical Carmont all he could handle early gaining mount and threatening with the RNC in the 1st round. Francis survived and GSP calmed his fighter between rounds. In the 2nd Francis hit the takedown early and worked into mount unloading G&P where he finished with the RNC. A nice wake up call for Carmont who learned a valuable lesson about taking opponents lightly. Still a ton of upside for the Tri-Star fighter in the future.
Simeon Thoresen defeated Besam Ypusef with the move of the night, the RNC. Thor has a crazy reach (79 inches the most at Welterweight) but used the ground game to his advantage taking things to the mat. Yousef stayed very busy from his back until an odd standup by the referee. Besam just did not stop throwing whether standing or grounded but in the 2nd round but a short uppercut hurt Yousef and both men went to the mat. Simeon held on and utilized the G&P taking his opponents back and choking out Besam in a great back and forth bout. Another solid fight where I'd like to see both fighters in the Octagon again!
Jason Young defeated Eric Wisely via Unanimous Decision (30-28, 29-28, 29-28).
Reza Madadi tapped Yoislandy Izquierdo with a Guillotine Choke in the 2nd round. Izquierdo gave "Mad Dog" all he could handle but when Madadi locked on the choke for the 2nd time he would not let it go without a tap. Very nice fight and I'd like to see both fighters again.
7-4 on the picks showing we got a bit rusty during the break.
2 comments:
"Then, James kicked away his defeated opponent in arrogant fashion and taunted the Swedish crowd with a moronic Hulk Hogan impersonation. That was completely unnecessary and shitty for no reason."
First of all, he did not kick away his opponent in an arrogant fashion. He shoved his opponent, who had been VERY disrespectful during weigh-ins and while walking in, off of him, so that he could stand up. It's actually laughable that you would have the audacity to call Head arrogant after the shit show Abedi put on. You need to re-watch the fight. I mean, Abedi wore a newsboy cap and had a stogie clenched between his teeth. And Head is the arrogant one? Second of all, Head was merely celebrating a victory, not taunting the crowd, who, by the way, were taunting him.
Guess you didn't see the middle finger salute to the crowd after he won huh? The crowd was cheering for their local hero which isn't taunting.
2nd, why is wearing a newsboy cap with a stogie arrogant? Its a gimmick he always uses much like Brad Pickett.
Finally, he DID kick him away and I am audacious.
Comments are always welcome even if I disagree when talking about the best sport in the world.
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