Fight Fixin’: Post-UFC on FUEL TV 8 Losers Edition

By Adam Martin

Fight Fixin’ is a fantasy matchmaking article that comes out after every major event and features possible matchups for main card winners and/or losers from the previous event.

Brian Stann

Despite putting on a “Fight of the Night” worthy performance,
Brian Stann was on the wrong end of a KO loss when he was caught by the aging
Wanderlei Silva and stopped in the second round of their classic UFC on FUEL TV8 main event. The loss brings Stann’s record to 1-3 in his last four bouts, and
it had the former US Marine questioning his future in the sport after the
fight.

If Stann does return, I still think there are still some really
fun matchups for him in the UFC middleweight division, and one guy I would like
to see him fight is Tim Boetsch, who is coming off a loss in his last outing at
UFC 155. Both Stann and Boetsch are guys who aren’t afraid to stand in the
pocket and trade, and both guys are tough as nails. Plus, both of them are
coming off of knockout losses and sit on the bubble of the Top 10.

Despite both men coming off of Ls, though, this could still be
a main card bout on a pay-per-view event, or at the very least the co-main
event of an FX or FUEL TV card, because both guys are well known and the chance
of another exciting KO is high.

Fight to make: Brian Stann vs. Tim Boetsch

Stefan Struve

Stefan Struve‘s four-fight win streak came to an end courtesy
of a massive punch from Mark Hunt that shattered Struve’s jaw in the third
round of their co-main event fight and left him unable to continue. The loss
marked the fourth time the 25-year old has been knocked out in his UFC career,
and that can’t possibly be a good thing for his young brain.

Still, there’s no way Struve is done in the sport just yet, and
for his next fight I think the UFC should give him an easier matchup against a
non-power puncher, someone like the recently-signed Nandor Guelmino, who has
yet to make his UFC debut. This would probably be a fun little fight, and it
could definitely be placed on the main card of one of the UFC’s planned events
in Europe, as both men have a following over there and because of the fact one
of these men will be going to sleep if they do end up fighting.

Fight to make: Stefan Struve vs. Nandor Guelmino

Takanori Gomi

Although most media outlets, fans, and even UFC president Dana
White believed Takanori Gomi did enough to defeat Diego Sanchez on the
scorecards, ultimately two of the three judges siting cageside thought Sanchez
did more, and Gomi was the recipient of what is known as a true “robbery” in
MMA circles.

Before this fight Gomi was on a two-fight win streak, and the
excellent performance against Sanchez, despite officially going down in the
record books as a loss, gives him at least another fight in the UFC.

There are a ton of fun matchups for Gomi, but one guy I think
he could put on a real show against is Matt Wiman, who was recently knocked out
by TJ Grant at UFC on FOX 6. Both Gomi and Wiman are always in “Fight of the
Night”-type brawls and going up against one another, I wouldn’t expect anything
less than one or even both of these guys leaving the arena with a bonus cheque
in his back pocket at the end of the night.

This fight, which couldn’t possibly be boring, could be the headlining
FX prelim for a pay-per-view event or even slipped onto the main card of an FX
event.

Fight to make: Takanori Gomi vs. Matt Wiman

Hector Lombard

The UFC rolled out the red carpet for former Bellator
middleweight champion Hector Lombard last summer, but “Lightning” hasn’t
returned the favor, losing two of three fights in the UFC, including a decisive loss against Yushin Okami on the main card of UFC on FUEL TV 8.

Lombard has a very pricey contract, and with his poor record in
the Octagon it wouldn’t shock me if the UFC outright cut him, but if he does
stay there’s no question he’ll need a big-name fight in his next outing and one
guy who I think would be an interesting fight for him is Mark Munoz, who hasn’t
fought since a KO loss to Chris Weidman last summer.

Lombard and Munoz have talked some smack about one another for
seemingly forever, and now with both men coming off of losses it would seem to
make sense for this fight to finally happen, and it would be, despite Lombard’s
disappointing performances, a co-main event worthy bout for a FX card, or
possibly even a main card bout on a pay-per-view.

Fight to make: Hector Lombard vs. Mark Munoz

Mizuto Hirota

It was a disappointing UFC debut for Mizuto Hirota, who was
outwrestled by the smaller Rani Yahya for two rounds before mounting a late
comeback in round three that ultimately just wasn’t enough, as the Japanese
featherweight lost a unanimous decision, putting him officially on a two-fight
losing skid.

With the UFC looking to cut fighters from their roster, one
would imagine Hirota could be on the block, but if he does get another chance
to fight in the UFC I would like for him to go up against Matt Grice, who
recently came out on the short end of a decision against Dennis Bermudez at UFC 157, and who is also on the bubble.

Both Hirota and Grice are grinders who aren’t afraid to
exchange punches, and with both men currently on losing skids, they would both
have plenty of motivation to bring it for the fans. This matchup would best be
served as a preliminary bout on a pay-per-view card, but it could even sneak
onto the main card of a FUEL TV event.

Fight to make: Mizuto Hirota vs. Matt Grice

Siyar Bahadurzada

Another disappointing performance came from Siyar Bahadurzada,
who was absolutely dominated for three rounds in the grappling department by
Dong Hyun Kim to lose a one-sided unanimous decision in the follow-up
performance to his incredible UFC debut last April when he knocked out veteranPaulo Thiago with one punch at UFC on FUEL TV 2.

The loss puts an end to Bahadurzada’s quest for the UFC
welterweight title, but he is still a dangerous standup fighter, and the UFC
would be wise to hold on to him for another fight.

For his next bout, I would like to see Bahadurzada matched up
with another striker, and I’d like for that striker to be Martin Kampmann, who
is coming off a one-punch KO loss to Johny Hendricks at UFC 154. Both of these
men prefer to stand and trade, with Kampmann being more technical and with
Bahadurzada having more power, so it would be fun to match them up against one
another and see who comes through with the win. It’d be a perfect fight to prop
up any FUEL TV or FX main card.

Fight to make: Siyar Bahadurzada vs. Martin Kampmann

UFC on FUEL TV 8: Silva vs. Stann took place on March 3, 2013 at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. Due to time differences, it aired on March 2, 2013 in the United States.

Click the stars to rate how good you think UFC on FUEL TV 8 was.