UFC on Fuel TV 8 Preview
The UFC has built its reputation on the every expanding world that it has created and helped for the sport of MMA. They have expanded from fighting in only Las Vegas once a month to holding three and sometimes four fights a month all over the world. One of the more recent places that the UFC has set up home is Japan but it is not a place that is unfamiliar with combat sports. Japan was the Las Vegas of combat sports before the UFC took over the MMA world. The Pride Fighting Championship was UFC before the UFC became what they are today. Pride was the biggest fighting promotion in the world and it centred in Japan. It would give birth to legends I the fight game like Chuck Liddell, Rampage Jackson, Dan Henderson, and Ken Shamrock. These fighters would become the base of MMA and many would make an impact in the UFC after Pride closed its’ doors. The UFC would purchase Pride and would eventually close it bringing many of the fighters to the UFC roster and taking out their biggest competitor. The UFC would not forget the country that helped to build MMA though as they would go back to Japan for UFC 144, the first time since the UFC went in 1999. Now they will go back to Japan and this time there will be a familiarity to the card as Japanese favorites return to the country they called home for years. The main event will feature one of the biggest stars in Japan who will be making his first trip to Japan since 2007. Wanderlei Silva had a great career in Pride that saw him become the first fighter to win a Pride Championship and a Pride Grand Prix. He would win over the Japanese crowds with his ability to put on very exciting fights. That has been his reputation since he entered the MMA game. He is mainly a standup fighter that likes to press forward and beat people with his technique and precise strikes. He is nearing the end of his career and although he will likely not get another shot at the title he will be looking to continue a streak of great fights. On the other end of this potential fight of the night will be a relatively young fighter in the MMA world. Stann would begin his career in the WEC winning the Light Heavyweight championship before moving to the UFC. Since he began his UFC career Stann has had some ups and downs and has never really been able to get back to the success of the WEC. Now he takes on a legend in MMA as he tries to get back on track in the light heavyweight division. The fight seems to be heading towards a stand up war between two fighters who can hold their own on the feet. Stann is comfortable anywhere the fight goes and he seems to want to stay standing in this fight although don’t be surprised if he tries to take the fight to the ground if he gets in trouble. Meanwhile there is no question where Silva wants this fight to take place as he looks to keep the fight standing. He is a legendary striker and loves to get into wars with his opponents to win fight of the nights. The fight will likely stay standing for the majority of the rounds as both fighters will look to test each other and their striking games. In the end it will be the younger fighter who will come out on top as Stann will get the unanimous decision win in what could be a classic fight.
The connection to Pride will not only be in the main event though as another Pride legend will face off on the main card. Mark Hunt did not have the longest career in Pride but it was a successful one with a 5-3 record including a five fight win streak. He would enter the UFC in 2011 after a stint in DREAM and has rattled off some big wins. With a three fight win streak Hunt has seemed to find his groove and now will return to Japan for a very important fight. He will be taking on Stefan Struve who is ranked #9 in the new heavyweight UFC rankings. Hunt is not ranked and a win against a top ten fighter will definitely move him up the rankings. It will not be easy though as Struve is ranked in the top ten for a very good reason. Struve is the biggest fighter in the UFC at 7’0” and Mark Hunt could be one of the smaller in the division at 5’10”. Struve will always use his height to his advantage using his reach to keep opponents out of range. Against Mark hunt that is exactly what he will look to do. Hunt is a well-rounded fighter that can adapt to any place that the fight goes and because of this Struve would be smart to keep the fight in his control. He should keep it standing where he can use his size to hurt Hunt while keeping Hunt away from his strike zone. It will be another Pride alumnus in the octagon but he will be up against it in the octagon with a very good fighter as the Pride alumni look to make their impact when they return to Japan.
Fight Card:
Main Card:
Wanderlei “The Axe Murderer” Silva vs. Brian “All-American” Stann (Sportsnet/Fuel TV)
Main Card:
Mark “Super Samoan” Hunt vs. Stefan “Skyscraper” Struve (Sportsnet/Fuel TV)
Takanori “The Fireball Kid” Gomi vs. Diego “The Dream” Sanchez (Sportsnet/Fuel TV)
Yushin “Thunder” Okami vs. Hector “Lightning” Lombard (Sportsnet/Fuel TV)
Mizuto “Pugnus” Hirota vs. Rani Yahya (Sportsnet/Fuel TV)
Dong “Stun Gun” Hyun Kim vs. Siyar “The Great” Bahadurzada (Sportsnet/Fuel TV)
Undercard:
Riki Fukuda vs. Brad Tavares (Facebook)
Takeya Mizugaki vs. Bryan “Kid Lightning” Caraway (Facebook)
Cristiano Marcello vs. Kazuki Tokudome (Facebook)
Alex “Bruce Leeroy” Caceres vs. Kyung “Typhoon” Ho Kang (Facebook)
Marcelo “Magrao” Guimaraes vs. Hyun “The Ace” Gyu Lim (Facebook)
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