Tuesday, March 5, 2013

UFC / MMA: Silva reminds the world he’s far from washed up with KO of Stann

Wanderlei Silva scored a second-round knockout of Brian Stann in their light-heavyweight bout
Silva became a legend in Japan with the now-defunct Pride organization in the early days of MMA
Stann said the loss stings, but he was glad he fought someone he called one of his favorite fighters

(PhatzRadio / USA Today) — SAITAMA, Japan — As far as storybook endings go, it’s going to be pretty hard to top this one.

After a torrid first-round pace in which both fighters scored multiple knockdowns, Wanderlei Silva (35-12-1 MMA, 5-7 UFC) knocked out Brian Stann (12-6, 6-5) in the second in his return to Japan — where he became an MMA legend years ago with the now-defunct Pride organization.

And if there was any concerns Silva would call it quits as he approaches 50 career fights, he likely set them aside for now.

The light-heavyweight bout headlined Saturday’s UFC on FUEL TV 8 event at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.

Stann took the middle of the cage and kept Silva’s back to the fence early in the fight. But when he moved inside, he slipped during a flurry, and Silva took advantage. He cut Stann above his nose with a blow and then looked to land a knee. But Stann answered with another flurry before moving back to the center, and Silva motioned for him to slug it out. Stann did just that, and he dropped Silva with a right hand as he came forward. But Silva recovered, and the two went back to the the middle.

Halfway through the action-packed round, the action finally slowed – but only because a knee from Stann landed low to the groin. After the restart, Stann landed an outside leg kick, but Silva countered perfectly with a right hand. Stann, though, then moved in and dropped Silva for a third time. Silva quickly returned to his feet and then drilled Stann and put him on the ground, where he was covered in the blood gushing from Stann’s nose.

The pace slowed in the second round, perhaps not surprisingly after the torrid first. But a Stann kick landed too low, and he was given a warning for the second low blow of the fight. On the restart, Silva landed a good head kick, and as things got going again, he then landed a huge right with a left hand right behind it. Stann covered up on the ground, but Silva landed four big shots on the ground to get the massive knockout.
The stoppage came at the 4:08 mark of the round.

“I’m so proud, and thanks to (UFC President) Dana White and the UFC for giving me this opportunity to fight here for my brothers,” the Brazilian fan favorite said after the fight. “My corner told me what I needed to do, and I’m glad I got to win back here.”

An emotional Stann, a former U.S. Marine who was born in Japan, said it hurt to lose the fight to one of his heroes, though he was glad he took the bout.

“I knew what I had at risk when I signed on the dotted line next to that man fighting here in Japan,” Stann said. “Wanderlei’s always been one of my favorite fighters ever. He’s one of the fighters who inspired me to start this sport, and I’m very proud to have been a part of his career — as much as this hurts right now. My heart’s broken, but I’m still proud that I put my name on the line and I fought him.”

Full UFC on FUEL TV 8 results:

Wanderlei Silva def. Brian Stann via knockout (punches) – Round 2, 4:08

Mark Hunt def. Stefan Struve via TKO (punches) – Round 3, 1:44

Diego Sanchez def. Takanori Gomi via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

Yushin Okami def. Hector Lombard via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)

Rani Yahya def. Mizuto Hirota via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Dong Hyun Kim def. Siyar Bahadurzada via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Brad Tavares def. Riki Fukuda via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)

Takeya Mizugaki def. Bryan Caraway via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

Kazuki Tokudome def. Cristiano Marcello via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Alex Caceres def. Kyung Ho Kang via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

Hyun Gyu Lim def. Marcelo Guimaraes via KO (knee) – Round 2, 4:00

Contributing: John Morgan. Matt Erickson and John Morgan cover mixed martial arts for MMAjunkie.com,
part of the USA TODAY Sports Media Group.

UFC / MMA: Silva reminds the world he’s far from washed up with KO of Stann is a post from: PhatzRadio.com

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