UFC on FUEL 2 Thoughts

UFC on Fuel 2 Main Card Thoughts

• I wonder how UFC and the management of the fighters feel after knowing this event only drew 197000 viewers. The embarrassing TNA Impact program draws more than that on a weekly basis. I think it’s a shame that fighters like Ellenberger, Sanchez, Gustafsson, and Stann have all been stuck on this channel in 2012. No one is going to know or see their great performances. I remember last year, two of my favorite fights of 2011 were Benson Henderson’s wars with Jim Miller and Clay Guida. Unfortunately, only hardcore fans saw them.
• Gustafsson looked pretty good, he did a good job of outstriking and beating Silva for all three rounds. Having said that, I felt like Gustafsson could have or should have tried to gone for the finish. The most exciting moment was in the first minute of the fight when Gustafsson dropped Silva with a sharp uppercut. His hand speed and reach were much better than Silva’s, so he could have done possibly finished him.
• I love Brian Stann, and dug how he stopped the fight before the referree did. Classy dude. I would love to see Stann fight against another top MW, perhaps the winner of Bisping-Boetsch. Or if Lombard gets signed, Stann-Lombard would be an awesome fight and someone on YouTube can make a great retro cheesy U.S.A. vs Cuba hype video of such a fight.
• Siyar Bahadurzada knocking out Paulo Thiago like that was shocking. I think that’s a great accomplishment, Thiago has never been finished. Bahadurzada against the winner of Mike Pierce-Carlos Eduardo Rocha would be neat.
• I really liked Dennis Siver vs Diego Nunes, it was a tight close fight between to very good fighters. I thought Siver was a top ten lightweight and I consider lightweight to be the toughest division in MMA. Nunes did pretty good, he has a style that will make it tough for anyone. Good win for Siver, would love to see him fight the winner of Poirier-Zombie or maybe even Erik Koch.
• Never thought I would hear Mike Goldberg namedropping Bret “The Hitman” Hart on a UFC broadcast. For those that missed it, he said that John Maguire is a huge Bret Hart fan, which is why Maguire had some pink on his shorts. Solid fight, I don’t know where I would rank Johnson, but Maguire hitting that GSP-Hughes I kimura into straight armbar reversal was pretty awesome. Those legkicks and how Maguire reacted to them was pretty weird though.
• That was the best I’ve seen Brad Pickett look in a while. Pretty much dominated Damacio Page on the feet and on the ground. Hit some really great shots, the last shot that dropped Page was really spectacular. He choked him out at the end of Round 2 and looked really good in his win.

UFC on FUEL 2 Results

Prelims
Jason Young defeated Eric Wisely via unanimous decision.
Simeon Thoresen defeated Besam Yousef via rear-naked choke submission at 2:36 of Round 2.
Reza Madadi defeated Yoislandy Izquierdo via guillotine choke submission at 1:28 Round 2.
Francis Carmont defeated Magnus Cedenblad via rear-naked choke submssion at 1:42 of Round 2.
Cyrille Diabate defeated Tom DeBlass via majority decision.
James Head defeated Papy Abedi via rear-naked choke submission at 4:33 of Round 1.

Main Card
Brad Pickett defeated Damacio Page via rear-naked choke submssion at 4:05 of Round 2.
John Maguire defeated Dennis Siver via armbar submission at 4:40 of Round 2.
Dennis Siver defeated Diego Nunes via unanimous decision.
Siyar Bahadurzada defeated Paulo Thiago via KO at 0:42 in Round 1.
Brian Stann defeated Alessio Sakara via KO at 2:26 in Round 1.
Alexander Gustafsson defeated Thiago Silva via unanimous decision.