UFC on FUEL 8 marked the UFC’s return to the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan, giving the card a nostalgic PRIDE feel for long-time fans and veteran fighters alike.
The card marked the rise of one heavyweight title contender at the expense of another, a former middleweight champion becoming largely irrelevant and a former PRIDE star showing he still has some gas left in the tank.
That’s just the tip of the iceberg though, so let’s analyze who the biggest winners and losers were in the Land of the Rising Sun on Saturday night.
BIGGEST WINNER
Wanderlei Silva – In a night filled with upsets and controversial calls, this one was clearly a no-brainer.
“The Axe Murderer” showed up in vintage PRIDE form and scored an incredibly violent knockout over a younger, more technical striker in Brian Stann.
Throw in the fact that Stann had never been knocked out cold before and it makes it possible to believe Silva still has a fun fight or two left in him
WINNER
Mark Hunt – Another aging PRIDE veteran showed he’s still got it on Saturday night, as “The Super Samoan” managed to outlast the grappling exchanges of Stefan Struve before pulling off a brutal third round knockout.
The exchange broke Struve’s jaw and gave Hunt four consecutive wins, including three knockouts. Talk about a statement win for the 38-year-old striker.
WINNER
Yushin Okami – While he nearly gave another fight away in the third round, the impeccable takedowns and top control of Yushin Okami were enough to add another quality win to his resume.
While Hector Lombard isn’t the world beater Bellator fans thought he was, he is still a tough customer and the victory keeps Okami relevant in the UFC’s 185-pound division.
WINNER
Takanori Gomi – While “The Fireball Kid” lost a split decision to Diego Sanchez in front of a home crowd, the overwhelming majority of fans and analysts thought he won the fight.
Even those who support the notion that Sanchez deserved to get his hand raised, Gomi was a huge underdog who was supposed to be steamrolled by a superior grappler and that certainly didn’t happen. There at plenty of fights left for Gomi at lightweight.
BIGGEST LOSER
Brian Stann – Heading into his main event bout with Wanderlei Silva, Stann was a fringe top 10 middleweight who could desperately use a highlight-reel knockout over a legend to stay relevant.
Silva certainly fit the bill, but Stann made the unfathomable mistake of trying to play rock ‘em, sock ‘em robots with one of the best brawlers of all time.
Taking the fight at light heavyweight wasn’t a great idea either, but this was “The All-American’s” fight to lose and he let the opportunity slip through his fingers.
LOSER
Hector Lombard – Making his UFC debut at UFC 149 in July, “Lightning” was riding an incredibly 25-fight unbeaten streak and was expected to make short work of Tim Boetsch.
Instead, he lost a lackluster decision and has now again come up short against a top middleweight in Yushin Okami.
Although he knocked out Rousimar Palhares in between his losses, there is a realistic chance the muscle-bound middleweight could be cut due to his high price tag.
LOSER
Stefan Struve – “The Skyscraper” came into this fight on a four-fight win streak and was calling for a title shot after he finished Mark Hunt.
For whatever reason, Struve looked like he’d never grappled before in his life despite having 16 wins by submission and tried to stand up with the superior striker. We know how that one ended.
LOSER
Diego Sanchez – “The Dream” may have won a split decision over Takanori Gomi, but very few pundits supported the ruling on the judges’ scorecards.
Sanchez was supposed to trade punches with Gomi as the crowd wildly cheered before scoring a takedown and locking up a submission. Instead, we got a pretty boring stand up affair. The fact that Sanchez missed weight by two pounds didn’t help his cause either.