UFC Fight Night: Gustafsson vs. Teixeira
May 28, 2017
Stockholm, Sweden
Airing on Fox Sports 1
The UFC returns to Sweden with a hometown favorite headlining with Alexander Gustafsson taking on the heavy hitter Glover Teixeira. The card opened with two prelims on Fight Pass with the remainder taking place on Fox Sports 1. Matt Ecochard here, results are still going to be play by play but they will be delayed. If you missed out on the fights, thank you for coming to read the play by play.
FIGHT PASS EARLY PRELIMS (10 AM ET / 7 AM PT)
(1) Marcin Held vs. Damir Hadzovic (Lightweight 155 lbs)
ROUND ONE: Hadzovic is the bigger man here for sure. Front kick to the face lands for Hadzovic and slightly stuns Held. Held is holding the center more than Hadzovic is. Held is landing better punches, but is losing in kicks and knees. Held gets a takedown and gets into side control fairly easily. Ground and pound from Held, but gets put back into full guard. Hadzovic looks to threaten an armbar, but gets back into guard. Back into side control for Held, landing some hard elbows. Held slips onto the back and has his hooks locked in. 20 seconds to work for Held and nothing comes from it.
ROUND TWO: Held opens with a nice wheel kick and shoots in for a takedown afterwards, much quicker than last round. Hadzovic goes to get up and Held jumps on his back. Shaken off, both men are back to their feet and Hadzovic needs to work here because he is losing this fight. Head kick for Hadzovic, but Held gets the takedown off of it. Held works on Hadzovic and starts to sink in a D’Arce choke, but doesn’t sink it in tight enough. Held ends the round going off on Hadzovic.
ROUND THREE: Hadzovic comes out with a huge knee and knocks out Held! WOW! He was losing this whole fight, if he was taken down he wouldn’t likely lost this fight.
Result: Damir Hadzovic via KO Round 3 – 0:07
Ecochard’s Analysis: Disappointment for Held as he will likely be cut from the UFC even though he was winning 90% of that fight. Hadzovic landed a well timed, violent knee and put him away. Good for Hadzovic as he keeps his UFC dreams going.
(2) Darren Till vs. Jessin Ayari (Welterweight 170 lbs)
ROUND ONE: Ayari takes the center of the octagon, but neither men have done anything in the first minute. Till is landing some good shots and clipping Ayari. The left straight is landing at will for Till here. Headkick blocked by Ayari then he moves into clinch. Another headkick from Till, still not landing clean though, then goes in for a takedown just to prove he can. Sweep of the feet from Till then he gets the back, but Ayari gets back to his feet again. Ayari is throwing some big winding shots, but isn’t setting them up well enough to make anything connect. Till is putting his hands down as Dan Hardy states that his confidence is growing.
ROUND TWO: Two left hands land for Till and drop Ayari. A triangle choke attempt, then an armbar attempt from Ayari to get Till to back off for a second. Till in fully guard, but isn’t doing a whole lot. Till gets up and tries to dive in with an elbow. A loose head in arm choke attempt, but they get out and Ayari comes out on fire, lands a knee but then gets clocked with a left straight from Till. Ayari is shooting in for a takedown, Til grabs the top of the fence and stays up. Ayari gets him down for a second, but he is right back up. Another big left from Till. Another left drops Ayari again and Till swarms on him stacking him. Two big elbows, then another and another are landing hard on Ayari. A few hard shots follow up on him. Ayari is somehow still in this fight and while he is definitely not winning, he is still conscious.
ROUND THREE: Till is playing the matador as Ayari is just charging forward recklessly. Big left headkick partially lands. Till is just keeping Ayari at range. Hard kick to the stomach of Ayari. Till is taunting Ayari, but he can’t really do anything about it. A knee and a left to follow up from Till, an accidental eye poke lands against Ayari. Till lands a big left hook as Ayari comes rushing in and that is it.
Result: Darren Till via Unanimous Decision (30-27 x2, 29-27)
Ecochard’s Analysis: This was all Till, just complete domination on the feet from start to finish. His range and power along with his strong Muay Thai skills let him get the impressive win. Ayari really just couldn’t get much of anything done against the larger Till.
FOX SPORTS 1 PRELIMS (11 AM ET / 8 AM PT)
(3) Nico Musoke vs. Bojan Velickovic (Welterweight 170 lbs)
ROUND ONE: Both men have a tentative start, but Musoke gets inside against the cage and gets the takedown against Velickovic. Musoke is just clobbering Velickovic on the ground, but it allows him to get back to the feet. Velickovic lands a couple good shots, but Musoke gets the fight back into the cage again. They split, neither man accomplishes much in the last minute of the opening round. Close first round, but definitely edged to Musoke.
ROUND TWO: Velickovic comes out and takes the center of the octagon and is more active here with his strikes. Strange sweeping leg kick attempt lands for Velickovic. Musoke needs to be more active here. Velickovic lands a takedown with a minute and half left, but steps back and Musoke gets back to his feet. A couple more hard shots land from both fighters. Not a whole lot of action, making this fight a toss up, but likely one round a piece heading into the third round.
ROUND THREE: The key to Velickovic is using his movement. Musoke goes in for a takedown, but almost gets caught in a guillotine choke, sprawls and gets back against the fence in a clinch. They break and they are trading combinations back and forth now with Musoke taking the center of the cage. Hard right from Musoke with a nice left counter hook from Velickovic. One minute left in this fight and both men should come forward to make sure they get the round. A huge right hook wobbled Musoke! He was completely out on the feet, gets followed up and finish on the ground.
Result: Bojan Velickovic via TKO Round 3 (4:37)
Ecochard’s Analysis: What a devastating finish from Velickovic as he impresses in his UFC debut. Musoke is a tough out and they were really competitive until the finish. The power and technical skill shown from Velickovic makes him a promising prospect going forward.
(4) Reza Madadi vs. Joaquim Silva (Lightweight 155 lbs)
ROUND ONE: Silva looks like a mad man here staring into the soul of Madadi. The weigh-ins had Madadi get in the face of Silva and it appears to have lit a spark in Silva. Both men are missing most of their strikes early and trying to judge the reach. Madadi gets a takedown but Silva gets back up. Another takedown for Madadi, but a little more secure this time. Silva is on his back in full guard. Madadi isn’t really landing anything and Silva isn’t trying to really set much up either. Madadi stays on top for the remainder of the round.
ROUND TWO: Silva lands a nice kick that stuns Madadi. Returning fire Madadi lands two right hands that stop Silva in his tracks for a moment. Madadi lands another takedown, but Silva gets right back up to his fight. Headkick lands for Silva and rocks Madadi. Both men hurting each other. Silva lands a nice shot to the body. Madadi lands a spinning strike to Silva. A knee to the body from Silva now. These two are going at it. Another spinning attempt from Madadi then ducks to attempt a takedown but he stops it. Madadi is landing better strikes here with all the level changes. Silva tries to go for a jumping knee, misses but two big headkicks partially land for Silva.
ROUND THREE: A takedown lands for Madadi 30 seconds in. Silva gets back to the cage and up, but eats a knee and gets taken down again. A minute or so with some ground and pound and Silva gets up. An eye poke by Silva, but the referee says keep fighting. Silva rocks Madadi and jumps on his back, but is sliding up too high. Madadi pops out and Silva is held against the cage with a minute and a half to go. Madadi goes to trip Silva, but slips and ends up on his back. Silva is on top with just under a minute to go. He stands and is landing some big shots. Madadi gets up, tries to go for another takedown, but slips and ends up on his back again, likely giving Silva this round. Close fight.
Result: Joaquim Silva via Split Decision (29-28 x2, 28-29)
Ecochard’s Analysis: Madadi looked good for a short notice fight against a dangerous fighter. The first two round were close but he took down Silva pretty easily. The third round his cardio started to show and he gave up some easy takedowns and made some poor decision. Both men showed heart and incredible chins with some of the shots they were eating. Silva came out the winner, but neither man should be disappointed.
(5) Chris Camozzi vs. Trevor Smith (Middleweight 185 lbs)
ROUND ONE: Smith comes in and gets a takedown early. Camozzi has Smith’s arm locked up, but isn’t doing much because he is afraid to move. Smith pops out, but Camozzi gets up. Smith has Camozzi pressed up against the fence, but neither man is landing strikes or anything from this position. Smith finally gets the takedown and is landing some soft ground and pound, but nothing too spectacular. All Smith this round on the ground at least.
ROUND TWO: Camozzi was taken down at the same time he was last round and needs to either be more active or get back to his feet. Smith is just landing shots at will on the ground, lots of elbows and short stiff punches. The entire round consisted of Smith cutting and beating up Camozzi with not much else occurring. Little resistance from Camozzi.
ROUND THREE: Smith is the better wrestler here and it is showing. Camozzi is fighting off the takedowns better this round, but he isn’t changing the pace here and looks like he is just giving up. Smith ends up getting the takedown half way through this round. Big shots landing from Smith on top. Camozzi had almost zero offense this entire fight and was just outclassed by Smith.
Result: Trevor Smith via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-26 x2)
Ecochard’s Analysis: Camozzi just looked outworked the entire bout. Smith out wrestled him from the start and didn’t let up. Camozzi was tired, battered and bruised by the end and didn’t do anything off his back or on the feet to stop Smith. Smith moves forward and now has a winning record within the octagon.
(6) Pedro Munhoz vs. Damian Stasiak (Bantamweight 135 lbs)
ROUND ONE: Both men trade leg kicks to start. More leg kicks from Munhoz, with Stasiak going for more punches. Head kick sneaks in for Munhoz, but doesn’t effect Stasiak that much. Stasiak got out of a choke and gets back to his feet. Munhoz is landing the crisper shots on the feet so far too, not looking good for Stasiak so far. Two body kicks land for Munhoz in a row as he pushes the pace. Big wheel kick almost lands for Stasiak. The round ends with a takedown from Stasiak, but it was at the horn so nothing stems from it.
ROUND TWO: Stasiak gets stiffed from a jab from Munhoz, but keeps coming in. Munhoz is putting all the pressure on in this fight so far. Stasiak needs to come forward more, he win this fight backing up. Munhoz grabs the neck of Stasiak, then switches and gets a body lock from behind but they break. Munhoz is chopping away at the left leg and it has caused Stasiak to switch stances. Munhoz shoots in for two feint takedowns before the round ends.
ROUND THREE: A big one two lands for Munhoz stuns Stasiak. Munhoz grabs the neck but then breaks. Stasiak ends up on the ground and Munhoz is on top. The announcers are talking about how close this bout is, but I disagree, Munhoz is definitely winning this fight. Stasiak back to his feet and lands a couple good strikes, but he is countered by a left straight. A couple more hard leg kicks land for Munhoz. Stasiak needs to check these kicks. Munhoz gets on his back and has 90 seconds to work. Stasiak gets up, but picked up and slammed back to the ground. Stasiak finally gets apart, but gets hit a few times. Both men stand and trade until the horn sounds. Fun fight with a little bit of everything.
Result: Pedro Munhoz via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28 x2)
Ecochard’s Analysis: Munhoz kept the pressure up the entire fight and really just controlled it. Stasiak landed some good shots here and there, but had virtually no ground game and was getting beaten everywhere. Munhoz is ranked and deserved a ranked opponent next time out. This was just a little too much too son for Stasiak, but he has some positives to take away and move forward with.
FOX SPORTS 1 MAIN CARD (1 PM ET / 10 AM PT)
(7) Jack Hermansson vs. Alex Nicholson (Middleweight 185 lbs)
ROUND ONE: Hermansson is the big crowd favorite here, he jumps in fast and gets the takedown. Nicholson goes for the guillotine, but Hermansson slips into side control fairly easily. Hermansson lands some real nice ground and pound. Hermansson slips into mount, takes the back and is flattening out Nicholson. Big shots are landing and the referee is looking in close. Giant elbows landing. Nicholson is done! Huge shots landing and he wasn’t fighting back at all. He can protest all he wants, but he was just laying there eating shots.
Result: Jack Hermansson via TKO Round 1 (2:00)
Ecochard’s Analysis: Right off of the first takedown, Hermansson just dominated. Nicholson did nothing off the ground and just got dominated there, it sucks that he couldn’t get more time to fight back, but that’s what happens when you lay still when the referee says to fight back. Impressive stuff from Hermansson who looked like a beast on the ground with what little we got to see of him.
(8) Nordine Taleb vs. Oliver Enkamp (Welterweight 170 lbs)
ROUND ONE: Taleb takes the center of the octagon and tries to push Enkamp away. The spinning back kick from Enkamp looked impressive. Enkamp looks like a high schooler, but is 25 years old . Enkamp comes forward as Taleb tries to grab hold of him. Another wheel kick attempt from Enkamp misses. Shooting in for the takedown, Enkamp doesn’t quite have it yet but is pressed into the fence and still going for it. The takedown materializes, but Taleb gets back up. Enkamp hurts Taleb with a shot, but he gets back to his feet. Lots of knees coming from Enkamp but he gets overpowered from Taleb. Rubber guard tossed up from Enkamp. Man this kid is fun to watch so far. Taleb is posturing up on Enkamp here with 20 seconds left. Fun opening round.
ROUND TWO: Left hand stuns Enkamp early in the second round, but he recovers. Taleb is just bullying forward here as he knows he can hurt Enkamp now. Taleb is landing the better shots. Enkamp gets taken down, sprawls into the top position but gets reversed back onto the bottom. Taleb is controlling Enkamp on the mat, threatening the back position. Enkamp tries to roll but doesn’t get out all the way. The round ends with Enkamp on his back still.
ROUND THREE: Right high kick just catches Taleb, but it wasn’t that hard of a strike. Both men are circling, but noon is really landing too many shots. Couple hooks from Taleb and kicks from Enkamp. Taleb gets a takedown and Emkamp tries to lock in a guillotine, but nothing stems from it. Taleb is content to control the rest of the round on the ground. If Enkamp can put on some muscle and work on his takedown defense a little more he will have a bright future in this sport.
Result: Nordine Taleb via Unanimous Decision (30-27 x2, 29-28)
Ecochard’s Analysis: Taleb just controlled that fight for almost the entire duration. Striking was a close, but Taleb controlled the octagon and really won in the ground portion of the fight. Enkamp just looked to be small and got overpowered by the older fighter in Taleb. Close fight and both fighters have things to be proud of in this one. Taleb needs one more win before a chance at the top 15 and Enkamp needs a promotional newcomer.
(9) Abdul Razak Alhassan vs. Omari Akhmedov (Welterweight 170 lbs)
ROUND ONE: Akhmedov blocked a kick from Alhassan, hurt him and got a takedown off of it. Alhassasn back to his feet and coming forward now. A head kick narrowly misses for Alhassan. Rushing in Akhmedov gets a takedown again. Alhassan gets up again which proves well for his ability to get off his back. Swinging hard is Alhassan but nothing connecting so far. Both men landing hard and swinging with 30 seconds left in the first round. Alhassan still pushing forward. The second round is further than Alhassan has ever gone.
ROUND TWO: Alhassan is backed up but quickly takes the center again. Alhassan comes forward and lands a couple nice shots but gets taken down. Akhmedov only holds the top position for less than a minute. Alhassan lands and Akhmedov shoots again. A hard right hand lands for Alhassan and it causes swelling. Akhmedov lands another takedown, he keeps landing these the moment Alhassan gets pressure building.
ROUND THREE: The first couple minutes is Alhassan coming forward. Akhmedov comes in for another takedown, but gets stuffed this time. A few shots land hard here for Alhassan again, what is keeping Akhmedov up here? A takedown comes for Akhmedov here and he gets mounted this time and pounds for about a minute. One minute left in the fight and Alhassan needs to get the finish here likely, but gets pushed into the fence. 30 seconds left in the fight and he gets ridden out to a decision.
Result: Omari Akhmedov via Split Decision (30-27 x2, 28-29)
Ecochard’s Analysis: Alhassan has amazing power, but he just couldn’t stay upright as he was coming forward. Working on his takedown defense, he could become a huge threat to anyone in the division. Akhmedov landed some hard shots, but his key was shooting for a takedown when the moment was right. Smart game-plan for Akhmedov overall.
(10) Peter Sobotta vs. Ben Saunders (Welterweight 170 lbs)
ROUND ONE: Sobotta comes out and lands a huge overhand left and a small combination afterwards. Saunders begins to recover and come forward. Saunders keeps the pressure on as he is fully recovered. Sobotta really stepped off for whatever reason. Sobotta lands a clean shot and it clocks Saunders. He finishes the round on top and in control.
ROUND TWO: Both men are trading. Sobotta is the man moving forward however. Lefts and rights in combination. Another big left hand lands for Sobotta and it hurts Saunders once again! Sobotta moves in and keeps the pressure. Saunders begins to recover, but Sobotta comes in and lands a left hook. A big knee finishes off Saunders followed by one more diving shot. It looks like Sobotta may have broken his hand with the win, damn he must hit hard.
Result: Peter Sobotta via TKO Round 2 (2:29)
Ecochard’s Analysis: Sobotta just rocked Saunders early and often. That flurry with the knee at the end was just brutal stuff from him. Saunders never got anything established since getting rocked in the first 30 seconds. Good look for Sobotta here as he continues to make the most of his second stint in the UFC.
(11) Volkan Oezdemir vs. Misha Cirkunov (Light Heavyweight 205 lbs)
ROUND ONE: Oezdemir gets hurt early from Cirkunov, clips him with a small hook counter and drops Cirkunov! Wow that was unexpected.
Result: Volkan Oezdemir via TKO Round 1 (0:28)
Ecochard’s Analysis: Not much to go off of, he was hurt for a second but waited, countered and got the finish fast. Great night for him and he keeps that top 5 ranking deservedly so.
(12) Alexander Gustafsson vs. Glover Teixeira (Light Heavyweight 205 lbs) Main Event (5 Rounds)
ROUND ONE: Gustafsson circles and stays on the outside to start. Leg kick lands for Gustafsson, Teixeira flurries and lands a big takedown, but can’t hold him down. Big uppercut lands, then a right hand, all clipping Teixeira. A shot lands from Gustafsson, but it was an eye poke and it was a pretty bad one. The referee asks him if he can see and Teixeira responds “I’m gonna fight”. A big uppercut lands for Gustafsson again! Teixeira keeps coming forward and Gustafsson keeps circling to reset himself. These uppercuts are available all night for Gustafsson, landing almost at will.
ROUND TWO: The right eye of Teixeira is pretty messed up and he tells his corner that he couldn’t see out of it. Both men land, but Gustafsson lands a hard elbow. Two hard left hands for Teixeira as he is chasing Gustafsson. A spinning back elbow and a few hard shots followed up drops Teixeira! Uppercut lands for Gustafsson and Teixeira somehow is standing up! Both men are cut and bruised already. A nice uppercut lands hard for Teixeira now as Gustafsson circles. Solid 1-2 combination lands for Gustafsson, answered by two jabs from Teixeira. As Gustafsson is circling Teixeira chases and tries to land a hook or uppercut.
ROUND THREE: Two uppercuts and a left hand drop Teixeira! He pulls in Gustafsson to stop the ground and pound. Elbows keep on dropping down on Teixeira head. This is just a violent fight folks. Aggressive strikes from both parties and Teixeira somehow gets back to his feet showing incredible willpower. Gustafsson gets a trip takedown off of the cage. Teixeira spins and Gustafsson tries to take the back, but he gets back up to his feet again. They both reset and meet in the middle of the octagon. Kicks and jumping knees from Gustafsson. Another big uppercut, and this time Teixeira stands and tells him to trade with him.
ROUND FOUR: Body kick lands early for Gustafsson. Hard body shot for Teixeira this time, still the man pressing forward. Two hooks missed for Teixeira. Gustafsson clinches Teixeira against the cage for about 30 seconds. Teixeira is just a step too slow to land much or dodge anything. Teixeira’s head gets snapped back from a hard uppercut again. Right body kicks from Gustafsson. Teixeira is exhausted, gets clipped again with an uppercut.
ROUND FIVE: Gustafsson is circling to begin the round. Teixeira lands two hard shots! Gustafsson lands an uppercut, then two more and hard right hook that finishes Teixeira! He’s out!!!
Result: Alexander Gustafsson via KO Round 5 (1:07)
Ecochard’s Analysis: That fight was just insane. Teixeira was just slightly slower and couldn’t figure out the style of Gustafsson. If Gustafsson gets the winner of Jones and Cormier’s rematch, that next rematch should be exciting with this improved Gustafsson! Teixeira looked good, but just a step too slow for the younger fighter. The heart of Teixeira can not be questioned though.
Leave a Reply