The chin of Glover Teixeira was the only thing that stopped a premature end to the UFC Stockholm main event, as Alexander Gustafsson handed out a one-sided beating to the Brazilian, before eventually getting the finish in the fifth round of his return to the Octagon after nearly a year on the sidelines.
UFC Stockholm, or UFC Fight Night 109, took place on Sunday, May 28 at the Ericsson Globe Arena in Stockholm, Sweden. The crowd of Swedes there to see their countryman Gustafsson created a formidable atmosphere all night and none more so than for the main event where the noise level was deafening.
“The Mauler” showed good movement from the get-go and sprung back up from Teixeira’s takedown attempt. Gustafsson landed the first of many signature uppercuts paired with a hard right when he got back to the feet before an accidental eyepoke from the Swede caused the action to be stopped. The doctor gave the go-ahead for Teixeira to continue however the Brazilian did not seem the same fighter from this moment, eating some hard combinations before the end of the first round and admitting to his corner he could not see out of his eye between rounds.
Gustafsson picked up the pace in the second round sensing a wounded Teixeira. He displayed a mix of speed, power and technique to hurt the Brazilian over and over with his right uppercut before landing a spinning elbow which caught Teixeira by surprise. The heavily bloodied veteran would fire back with a strong left hook that caught the Swede’s attention and reminded him that Teixeira was still dangerous.
Gustafsson’s blows landed with increasing frequency as the Brazilian was knocked down several times with only instinct and guts bringing him back to his feet and allowing him to withstand the brutal ground and pound of Gustafsson.
That warrior spirit could only last for so long and a minute into the fifth round, the end finally came as Gustafsson pieced together a beautiful combination of three fast and accurate uppercuts before knocking Teixeira out cold with a devastating right hook.
https://twitter.com/btsportufc/status/868922299256365057
The All-Stars MMA product was ecstatic after the fight and successfully proposed to his long-term girlfriend in front of the wild audience. With his second straight win and closeness of his previous fights with both Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier, it’s safe to say this win has put Gustafsson back in the light-heavyweight title picture once more.
Teixeira, meanwhile, fell to his second KO defeat in his last three fights and at 37-years-old will struggle to get himself back into light-heavyweight contention again.
https://twitter.com/btsportufc/status/868938554604441600
Oezdemir matches Gustafsson, scores second big upset in a row to emerge as surprise LHW contender
UFC new boy Volkan Oezdemir shocked everyone in attendance and everyone watching as he caused a major upset over fancied light-heavyweight prospect Misha Cirkunov when he knocked out the Latvian-Canadian prospect inside the first 30 seconds of their bout.
Cirkunov swarmed Oezdemir from the opening bell and had him backed against the fence during the opening exchange. The Swiss fighter slipped from the heavy combination and landed an innocuous looking counter right that hit Cirkunov behind the ear and dropped him to the ground. The referee quickly stopped Oezdemir from following up with ground and pound to give him the win at 28 seconds of round one.
This isn’t the first time the Henri Hooft trained fighter has shocked the MMA world after he stepped in on short notice to make his UFC debut and would knockout Ovince St. Preux at UFC Fight Night 104. “Cousin” Oezdemir now holds a four-win streak and is 2-0 in the UFC.
Sobotta displays improved striking as he picks apart Saunders for second round finish
German welterweight Peter Sobotta showed he was more than just a grappler as he put on a striking clinic against BJJ specialist Ben Saunders to get the second round stoppage.
The 30-year-old showed a clear advantage in both speed and technique in the opening round, knocking down Saunders, and enjoying the majority of the offense in the first stanza.
In the second round, Sobotta moved it up a gear and started landing some crisp combinations which rocked “Killa B.” The German finished up with a huge knee that put Saunders on the mat and the referee stopped in as Sobotta followed up with strikes.
The welterweight is now 4-1 in the promotion and after that display could well find himself facing a ranked opponent in his next bout.
Elsewhere, Omari Akhmedov smothered the offense of Abdul Razak Alhassan with his superior grappling game to grind his way to a split decision victory. The Russian would enjoy long periods of top control and exposed a big hole in the game of top prospect Alhassan.
Also on the card, UFC veteran Nordine Taleb used his experience to spoil the debut of Swedish karate star Oliver Enkamp and take the unanimous decision victory.
Starting the main card, Sweden’s own Jack Hermansson fed off the energy of the crowd to spur him to a first round KO victory over Alex Nicholson in a middleweight clash.
UFC Stockholm Results
Light-Heavyweight Bout: Alexander Gustafsson def. Glover Teixeira via KO (punches) (Round 5 – 1:07)
Light-Heavyweight Bout: Volkan Oezdemir def. Misha Cirkunov via KO (punch) (Round 1 – 0:28)
Welterweight Bout: Peter Sobotta def. Ben Saunders via TKO (strikes) (Round 2 – 2:29)
Welterweight Bout: Omari Akhmedov def. Abdul Razak Alhassan via Decision (Split) (30-27, 28-29, 30-27)
Welterweight Bout: Nordine Taleb def. Oliver Enkamp via Decision (Unanimous) (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Middleweight Bout: Jack Hermansson def. Alex Nicholson via TKO (punches) (Round 1 – 2:00)
Bantamweight Bout: Pedro Munhoz def. Damian Stasiak via Decision (Unanimous) (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Middleweight Bout: Trevor Smith def. Chris Camozzi via Decision (Unanimous) (30-27, 30-26, 30-26)
Lightweight Bout: Joaquim Silva def. Reza Madadi via Decision (Split) (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Welterweight Bout: Bojan Velickovic def. Nico Musoke via TKO (punches) (Round 3 – 4:37)
Welterweight Bout: Darren Till def. Jessin Ayari via Decision (Unanimous) (30-27, 30-27, 29-27)
Lightweight Bout: Damir Hadzovic def. Marcin Held via KO (Knee) (Round 3 – 0:07)
