UFC Fight Night 53 was live from Sweden yesterday (10/04/2014) with an 11 fight card and produced a night of exciting fights, including five finishes, with all of them coming in the first round of action. Now with the solid night of scraps behind us, let’s take a look at which UFC Fight Night 53 fighters we may no longer see compete inside the Octagon… Alexander Yakovlev A unanimous decision victory over UFC and Strikeforce veteran Paul Daley in the Russian regional circuit earned Yakovlev a shot in the Octagon. He was immediately fed to the wolves, as his first opponent was Demian Maia. The Brazilian was unable to finish Yakovlev, however he successfully mounted the Russian in every round and dominated him on the mat to pick up a completely one-sided unanimous decision victory. Yakovlev followed that up with another unanimous decision defeat, this time coming against Nico Musoke at yesterday’s UFC Fight Night 53 in Sweden. It was an uneventful fight, and the Russian did not impress in his performance. Now 0-2 inside the Octagon and having lost all six of the UFC rounds in which he has fought, there is a good chance he will be getting released from the promotion. That said, I could also see Joe Silva giving him another shot against a welterweight closer to his skill-level, possibly fellow Russian Gasan Umalatov, especially considering that he was a big underdog heading into his two previous match-ups. Tor Troeng After an impressive first round rear naked choke submission victory in his promotional debut over fellow The Ultimate Fighter season 18 cast-mate Adam Cella and showing promise, the Swede has come up short in his following three bouts, dropping a string of unanimous decisions to Rafael Natal, Trevor Smith and most recently Krzyzstof Jotko at yesterday’s UFC Fight Night 53 in Sweden. Troeng was dominated by the Pole for all three rounds of action and it was the worst he has looked inside the Octagon. However, he looked great in a losing effort to Natal, going on to win ‘Fight of the Night’ honors. Unfortunately, it appears he has since shown a decline. Now having dropped three in a row, I feel certain Troeng will be receiving his walking papers from the promotion. I will be shocked to see him get another shot, even on another Sweden card, just because of how poorly he performed against Jotko. I expect we will be seeing Troeng in Bellator or Cage Warriors in early ’15. Ernest Chavez Chavez scored a huge upset as a very big underdog in his promotional debut, taking on and defeating lightweight striker Yosdenis Cedeno and defeating him via split decision on the judges’ scorecards. Following that bout, he took on undefeated Brazilian prospect Elias Silverio, losing the fight via rear naked choke submission at the 4:21 mark of the third round. The 27 year old Californian followed that up with another loss at yesterday’s UFC Fight Night 53 in Sweden, getting knocked out by Zubaira Tukhugov in the very first round of action, again coincidentally coming at the 4:21 mark. The Tukhugov bout was his first since dropping from lightweight to the featherweight division, and he certainly did not receive a warm welcome from the Russian. After a solid promotional debut, Chavez has gone on to lose two in a row, getting finished in both bouts. I think there is a good chance he will be receiving his pink slip from the promotion, however I won’t be surprised to see him get another crack at a first win at 145-pounds, especially considering both of the opponents he lost to have been monsters.
