MMANEWS.COM Staff Writer</B><BR><BR>
The Ultimate Fighting Championship heads to Stockholm, Sweden this weekend, where the Ericsson Globe Arena will play host to FUEL TV’s second official event. Tapped to compete are a number of cagey UFC veterans as well as a handful of young prospects. Swedish import, Alexander Gustafsson will enjoy the warmth of a partisan crowd when he dukes it out with rugged Brazilian, Thiago Silva in the evening’s featured bout, which boasts significant divisional relevance, as the winner will take a sizeable step toward aligning himself for a crack at the 205 pound title.<BR><BR>
<B>Alexander Gustafsson vs. Thiago Silva:</B> There’s a lot on the line for the winner of this fight, especially if Jon Jones defeats Rashad Evans at UFC 145, and especially if your name is Alexander Gustafsson. The Swede is currently enjoying an impressive four fight win streak that includes definitive finishes over quality opposition such as Vladimir Matyushenko and Matt Hamill. A win here would certainly birth a legitimate case for a shot at the crown, assuming Jones still holds the title come April 22nd (should Evans beat Jones, we could very likely see an immediate rematch, as Joe Silva seems to be running thin on ideas).<BR><BR>
Thiago Silva however, is nowhere near a title shot having gone 1-2-0-1 in his last four outings (the lone no contest comes after botching a drug screening for his UFC 125 bout with Brandon Vera, which resulted in a lengthy layoff), and a win in this fight does little more than put him back in the win column. That of course is not a bad thing, and derailing a surging prospect like Gustafsson would make for a damn nice feather in the cap.<BR><BR>
Stylistically, this fight is insanely interesting. We’ve got a rangy striker with great mobility in Gustafsson, colliding with an absolute bull in Silva, who leans on his power and ability to take the fight to the mat when the going gets tough in the striking department. Theoretically, Silva can end this fight with a single punch, but I’m not convinced we’ll see the finish come from Silva. He’s been away from competition for nearly a year and a half, and he’s got an extremely tough test to welcome him back into the fold. Could he ground Alexander and pound out a victory? He most definitely can, but I don’t see it happening. I see Gustafsson riding the wave of momentum he’s established, keeping appropriate distance and chopping his Brazilian foe down over the course of three rounds. The finish comes just shy of the fifteen minute mark when a fading Silva is clipped by a big shot, and followed to the mat by Alexander, who should be able to unleash enough ground and pound to put Thiago to sleep.<BR><BR>
<B>Brian Stann vs. Alessio Sakara:</B> Both of these men have some climbing to do before they can be considered a threat to the middleweight title holder. Stann had built some serious steam at 185 pounds, reeling off three consecutive stoppage victories prior to running into Chael Sonnen at UFC 136. The former title challenger bested the Silver Star recipient with ease, applying a tight arm triangle choke in the second round of their collision.<BR><BR>
Alessio Sakara himself sits in a virtually identical boat, having recently picked up three straight wins before being seriously outclassed by rising star Chris Weidman at UFC Live 3 just over one year ago. A split decision nod over Thales Leites and a first round technical knockout of fellow power puncher James Irvin stand as recent highlights for the Italian bomber.<BR><BR>
Despite the stoppage loss to Sonnen, Stann still holds the advantage here. He’s been far more active as of late, having fought seven times in the same time span in which Sakara has competed just thrice. Stylistically both men are remarkably similar, preferring to not only keep the fight in the vertical position, but leaning heavily on boxing rather than a more diversified kick boxing based assault. Both are very capable with all limbs, but both clearly prefer to let the fists fly first and foremost. Herein lies the problem for Sakara: Stann can match his technical abilities, and he’s shown a sturdier chin and far greater consistency. It will be violent while it lasts, but Stann’s got an edge in power, and he’ll catch Sakara clean to put him away with strikes in the second frame.<BR><BR><!--more-break-->
<B>Paulo Thiago vs. Siyar Bahadurzada:</B> This fight poses a lot of questions: is the hype behind Bahadurzada justified? Can Thiago place himself back in the mix at 170 pounds with a big victory? Will the first time jitters play any role in Siyar’s performance? Will Thiago struggle with the size of the Afghanistan native? So many questions, so little with which to formulate an educated guess, primarily due to the fact that Bahadurzada is still a relatively unknown commodity amongst North American fans.<BR><BR>
What we have here is a classic clash of styles. While Thiago is certainly proficient with his strikes, the ground game is his specialty, and he’s got some nasty submission skills to prove it. Bahadurzada in contrast is as aggressive as they come, and tends to avoid the mat in favor of frenetic slugfests. He’s a powerful guy who can turn the lights off with a single punch, but he tends to neglect his defense when attacking relentlessly. The question comes down to whether or not Paulo can gauge Siyar’s aggression and time the takedown properly to take this into his realm.<BR><BR>
Both men have fought some top notch opponents, but the edge must go to Paulo here, as he was welcomed to the UFC with a true baptism by fire, facing Josh Koscheck, Jon Fitch, Mike Swick and Martin Kampmann in four of his first five octagon appearances. He’s had time to get comfortable inside the octagon and he’s not likely to be overwhelmed by Siyar. I see a few sketchy moments early for Thiago, but ultimately, he’ll overcome a series of wild haymakers to secure multiple takedowns en route to a unanimous decision nod.<BR><BR>
<B>Dennis Siver vs. Diego Nunes:</B> I think most people expect Siver to make waves in his featherweight debut. He’s a massive man with a well-rounded attack, and the size advantage he should sport coming into this fight makes it a bit easier to conceive of a victory for the rugged German. However, I view Nunes as the technically superior fighter, and more tenacious of the two.<BR><BR>
Nunes’s game is a bit too polished to be outclassed in any one single area, and his speed will pose some serious problems for Siver. We’ll see a handful of pretty spinning back kicks from Siver, but few will find their mark as Nunes is an extremely agile fighter who utilizes movement very well. To keep it short and sweet: Nunes catches Siver with a big punch in the third round, before pouncing for the submission victory.<BR><BR>
<B>DaMarques Johnson vs. John Maguire:</B> There isn’t much on the line for either fighter here; both are light years from a title shot, and neither is likely to meet the chopping block upon defeat. Johnson is as about as inconsistent as a Northern California winter but he’s damn exciting to watch, and Maguire is still a relatively unproven fighter, despite an impressive 17-3 record.<BR><BR>
Johnson has the home field advantage having fought for the promotion on seven different occasions, but it’s tough to predict which DaMarques shows up, the motivated monster, or the uninspired journeyman? Maguire is clearly the more consistent man, and he’ll likely prove it by picking up one of his finest wins on Saturday. I see this one unraveling in competitive fashion for two rounds, in which Johnson will land the more significant strikes, and Maguire will likely secure the more frequent takedowns. The final round of the fight will determine the winner, as “The One’s” gas tank proves to hold more fuel; John will snatch a submission early in round three to move his UFC mark to 2-0.<BR><BR><!--more-break-->
<B>Brad Pickett vs. Damacio Page:</B> This bout has “Fight of the Night” written all over it. Both of these men are offensive minded monsters who function at a rate few can match. With the bantamweight division wide open beyond the top two dogs, Dominick Cruz and Urijah Faber, the winner makes a case for a major leap in competition, and with the division still relatively thin, either man could be just two or three fights away from a shot at the championship.<BR><BR>
Both Pickett and Page tote some extremely aggressive striking, and both have a tendency to go for broke at all times. Page’s aggression has cost him numerous fights in the past, and in the build-up to this match he’s vowed to bring a bit more patience into the cage with him. I think that game plan lasts about as long as it takes Pickett to land something crisp, at which point the brawler in Damacio will likely emerge.<BR><BR>
On the feet this one is damn near a dead heat, with Page likely being the slightly more powerful of the two, and Pickett being the more accurate. However, the striking is only one element of this fight, and I don’t think the fight ends on the feet. I see some wild exchanges, with both men eating heavy leather early. The second round will likely produce a victor, as Pickett stuns “The Angel of Death” before snatching a tight guillotine choke after Page shoots a desperation takedown.<BR><BR>
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