A.J. DEVASTATES SECOND LARGEST CROWD IN UFC HISTORY
Rumble Mauls “The Mauler”
Los Angeles, CA– Almost 30,000 Swedish fans at the Tele2 Arena in Stockholm, Sweden left heartbroken Saturday night after their guy was demolished by American light heavyweight (205) contender Anthony “Rumble” Johnson (19-4) in the UFC On Fox 14 main event. Rumble took only two minutes and fifteen seconds to dispose of Alexander Gustafsson (16-3), and will be next in line for champion Jon Jones (21-1).
RUMBLE, YOUNG MAN, RUMBLE!
If we learned anything from the main event, we learned that Johnson’s power is for real. Gus had never been stopped by strikes before and A.J. was able to finish him off once he had him hurt. Truth be told, the stoppage may have been a little late, as Alex was clearly not able to defend himself effectively for the last several punches he ate while curled up in the fetal position. It was a demoralizing loss for the swede, who cried in the cage after the fight. I think he will be able to bounce back at the young age of 28, and I can see UFC matchmaker Joe Silva setting him up against Daniel Cormier (15-1) in the near future.
CAN RUMBLE BREAK BONES?
It is very hard to justify betting against the champion, but Rumble has shown he is a different fighter at 205 than he was at 185 or 170. The world will be pulling for him to dethrone one of the most polarizing champions in UFC history. Johnson seems like a humble guy and said he felt bad seeing Gus cry like that. He showed a lot more class in that one moment than Jones has in his entire career.
DAN HENDERSON MUST RETIRE IMMEDIATELY
Middleweight (185) Gegard Mousasi (36-5-2) became the second guy to stop Dan Henderson (30-13) on strikes, and the fifth to beat him in his last six fights. The Pride Fighting and UFC legend “Hendo” is now 44 and years removed from his best. The stoppage was a bit premature, but looked inevitable anyway. It’s time to call it a career, Dan.
BADER BEATS DAVIS IN NON-ACTION FIGHT
In a fight that looked more like a draw than a win for either guy, light heavyweight Ryan Bader (19-4) added to his win column versus Phil Davis (13-3, 1 NC). Neither guy was able to do much over 15 minutes, but it was Bader who took the split decision. He has now won 4 in a row and may get another crack at Jones if he continues to pick up wins.
CORRASANI KNOCKED OUT FOR SIXTH TIME
Akira Corrasani (12-6, 1 NC) was part of what was a very rough night for Swedish mixed martial arts. The featherweight was knocked out in 3:26 against the powerful but very limited Sam Sicilia (14-5). 32 is relatively young, but the Swede may want to call it quits after being victim to so many brutal finishes. Swedish welterweight (170) prospect Nicholas Musoke (13-4, 1 NC) also lost on the prelims, so it was a tough card for the home crowd to witness.
FOX SPORTS 1 PRELIMS RESULTS
WELTERWEIGHTS:
Albert Tumenov (14-2) UD3 Nicholas Musoke (13-4, 1 NC)
WELTERWEIGHTS:
Kenny Robertson (15-3) KO1(2:42) Sultan Aliev (13-2)
LIGHTWEIGHTS (155):
Makwan Amirkhani (11-2) TKO1(0:08) Andy Ogle (9-6)
LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHTS:
Nikita Krylov (18-4) SUB1(1:24) Stanislov Nedkov (12-2)
LIGHTWEIGHTS:
Mairbek Taisumov (23-5) KO2(0:38) Anthony Christodoulou (12-5)
FEATHERWEIGHTS:
Mirsad Bektic (9-0) UD3 Paul Redmond (10-5)
UFC FIGHT PASS EARLY PRELIMS AT 4PM/1PM ETPT
HEAVYWEIGHTS (265 LIMIT):
Viktor Pesta (10-1) UD3 Konstantin Erokhin (9-2)
FLYWEIGHTS (125):
Neil Seery (15-10) UD3 Chris Beal (10-1)
2015 MMA Picks Record: 13-6
2015 Overall Picks Record: 17-6
Zack “Attack” Young