UFC on Fuel TV 8: Silva vs. Stann Preview

This Saturday night Wanderlei Silva and Brian Stann will headline a light heavyweight fight at UFC on Fuel TV 8. This event is coming live from Japan where many fighters will be making their returns to the country where they became popular while fighting in PrideFC, DreamFC or Sengoku.

UFC on Fuel TV 8 Preview:

Main Card on Fuel TV:

Light Heavyweight: Wanderlei Silva (34-12-1) vs. Brian Stann (12-5)

"The Axe Murderer" is arguably one of the five greatest fighters to ever set foot in the ring or cage. The guys that he has beaten and things he has accomplished are legendary. He was the first Pride Middleweight Champion, he won the 2003 Pride Middleweight Grand Prix and he was a semi-finalist in both the 2005 Pride Middleweight and the 2006 Pride Open-Weight Grand Prix. He has beaten Dan Henderson, Kazushi Sakuraba three times, Quinton "Rampage" Jackson twice, Ricardo Arona, Michael Bisping and Cung Le just to name a few. Silva was a legend in the now-defunct PrideFC and is making his first return to the place where he was once champion for over five years.

The guy that will be across the Octagon from him tonight is a guy that posses very similar striking power with his hands. Stann is a former WEC Light Heavyweight Champion and former marine who goes by the nickname "All-American." His career hasn't run as long as Silva's but he has beaten an alright list of fighters as well. Some of the guys that Stann has beaten include Steve Cantwell twice, Chris Leben, Jorge Santiago and Alessio Sakara.

I'm very excited for this fight as I'm willing to bet that there's no way this fight goes the full five rounds. Silva has managed to win by knockout 24 times in his career with Stann winning nine of his by knockout. Both of these guys are going to stand with each other and I'm guessing that it won't last long. The key for this fight is where the action occurs. If it turns into a boxing fight then Stann has a chance at winning but if Silva is able to use his Muay Thai style and land some knees and kicks he will come out the victor.

My Prediction: Silva wins via KO (round 1).

Heavyweight: Mark Hunt (8-7) vs. Stefan Struve (25-5)

Hunt is coming in to this fight on a three-fight winning streak over Chris Tuchscherer, Ben Rothwell and Cheick Kongo. He's a decorated kickboxing competitor outside of fighting MMA and was once one of the best heavyweights in the world while fighting for PrideFC. Outside of his current win streak he also holds notable wins over two of the greatest fighters ever in Wanderlei Silva and Mirko "Crocop" Filipovic.

His opponent is a giant in Stefan Struve. Struve stands at about 7 feet tall and is the tallest fighter in the UFC today. He has been able to use his size to his advantage in most of his fights and is coming in to this one on a four-fight win streak. He has defeated the likes of Paul Buentello, Pat Barry, Dave Herman, Lavar Johnson and Stipe Miocic in his career.

The main key to this fight is where it ends up. If it stays standing expect Hunt to knock Struve out. If it goes to the ground expect Struve to submit Hunt. Hunt and Struve have each only had one fight in their careers go the distance so don't expect this one to end up on the judges cards.

My Prediction: Hunt wins via KO (round 1).

Catchweight (158 lbs): Takanori Gomi (34-8) vs. Diego Sanchez (23-5)

Sanchez is coming in to this fight a little heavy as he weighed two pounds over the limit during yesterday's weigh-in. He has spent most of his career going back and forth between welterweight and lightweight and hasn't been able to win the big one when given the chance. Sanchez is a fighter that would extremely benefit from the UFC adding another weight class in between lightweight and welterweight as he is too small at 170 and struggles to make it down to 155. Sanchez holds wins in his career over some of the best fighters in the world at both 155 and 170 including Jorge Santiago, Kenny Florian, Nick Diaz, Karo Parisyan, Clay Guida, Paulo Thiago and Martin Kampmann.

Gomi is making his return to his native country for the second time since joining the UFC. He was once the number one lightweight in the world while champion of PrideFC and is currently on a two-fight win streak. While fighting all over the world he holds notable wins over Ralph Gracie, Jens Pulver, Luiz Azeredo twice, Tatsuya Kawajiri, Hayato "Mach" Sakurai, Marcus Aurelio and Tyson Griffin. His win over Gracie was the fastest knockout in the history of PrideFC which only lasted six seconds.

Usually when fighters come in to fights not at the weight limit they tend to gas early. Unless Sanchez is able to end the fight in the first round I don't think he will be able to win this one. I know he has great cardio, but he can't be in the best shape if he struggled so poorly to get to weight. I'm expecting this fight to stay standing with Gomi ending it in the second round.

My Prediction: Gomi wins via KO (round 2).

Middleweight: Yushin Okami (28-7) vs. Hector Lombard (32-3-1)

Okami is a fighter that for the majority of his career has been a very boring fighter. He tends to use his great wrestling to get position but when he gets top position very rarely does he actually look to finish the fight. He holds notable wins over Alan Belcher twice, Mike Swick, Evan Tanner, Mark Munoz and Nate Marquardt.

Lombard is the exact opposite of Okami. Only seven of his 32 wins have gone the distance as he tries to finish most of his fights. He is the former Bellator FC Middleweight Champion who went almost six years without losing a fight during his career. He holds notable wins over James Te-Huna, Brian Ebersole, Alexander Shlemenko, Trevor Prangley and Rousimar Palhares.

I think that this fight has two ways of it going. Either Lombard ends the fight early or Okami is able to use his size and wrestling to win a decision. Lombard usually puts it all out on the line early in fights so I wouldn't be surprised if Okami was able to win a boring decision.

My Prediction: Lombard wins via TKO (round 1).

Featherweight: Mizuto Hirota (14-5-1) vs. Rani Yahya (17-7)

In what is the least "sexy" of the fights on tonight's main card this fight is really a toss up. Hirota is dropping down to featherweight for the first time in his career in what is likely a good career move for him. Hirota fought the majority of his career in his native Japan fighting in Shooto, DEEP and Sengoku and will be making his return home. He holds notable wins over Mitsuhiro Ishida, Satoru Kitaoka and Katsunori Kikuno.

Yahya has spent the majority of his career fighting under the ZUFFA umbrella in both WEC and UFC and will be looking to add on to his most recent win over Josh Grispi. Yahya also holds wins over Mark Hominick, Eddie Wineland and Mike Brown while fighting at both bantamweight and featherweight in his career.

Yahya will likely be trying to win by submission as 15 of his 17 wins have come by it with only two coming by decision. Hirota will be trying to win the fight the other way as he has never won a fight by submission in his career. I'm expecting Hirota to try and neutralize Yahya's ground game and use his new size advantage at featherweight to his advantage.

My Prediction: Hirota wins via unanimous decision.

Welterweight: Dong Hyun Kim (16-2-1) vs. Siyar Bahadurzada (21-4-1)

Dong Hyun Kim is basically the welterweight version of Yushin Okami. He's just as boring and rarely does he end his fights. Kim most recently defeated Paulo Thiago and also has wins over Amir Sadollah and Nate Diaz.

Bahadurzada is a very explosive kickboxer who has also won a few of his fights by submission. Very rarely does he put on a boring fight and his most recent win was also over Paulo Thiago. Bahadurzada is currently on a seven-fight win streak and hasn't lost in over four years. He holds wins over Evangelista "Cyborg" Santos and John Alessio in his time prior to coming to the UFC.

I see this fight the same as I do the Okami-Lombard fight. Bahadurzada will likely end the fight in the first or second rounds or Kim will likely win a decision. If Kim is unable to get Bahadurzada to the ground he could end up knocked out and on the floor just as early as Paulo Thiago found out in his fight against Bahadurzada.

My Prediction: Bahadurzada wins via KO (round 2).


Preliminary Card on Facebook:

Middleweight: Riki Fukuda (19-6) vs. Brad Tavares (9-1)

My Prediction: Tavares wins via unanimous decision.

Bantamweight: Takeya Mizugaki (16-7-2) vs. Bryan Caraway (17-5)

My Prediction: Caraway wins via submission (round 3).

Lightweight: Cristiano Marcello (13-4) vs. Kazuki Tokudome (11-3-1)

My Prediction: Marcello wins via submission (round 1).

Bantamweight: Alex Caceres (8-5) vs. Kyung Ho Kang (11-6)

My Prediction: Caceres wins via unanimous decision.

Welterweight: Marcelo Guimaraes (8-0-1) vs. Hyun Gyu Lim (10-3-1)

My Prediction: Guimaraes wins via unanimous decision.