UFC on FUEL TV 8: March 2, 2013 Saitama, Japan UFC Light Heavyweight Contender Brian Stann (-175) Profile: Brian Stann (12-5) is 6-4 in the UFC and coming off a unanimous decision loss to Michael Bisping at UFC 152. He had previously scored an impressive first-round knockout of Alessio Sakara on April 14 at UFC on Fuel TV 2 in Sweden. The 31-year-old Stann is 4-2 since moving to middleweight from light heavyweight, with his other loss against top contender Chael Sonnen by choke submission at UFC 136. Before losing to Sonnen, Stann knocked out Jorge Santiago at UFC 130 and Chris Leben at UFC 125 and choked out Mike Massenzio at middleweight. UFC Light Heavyweight Contender Wanderlei Silva (+145) Profile: Since joining the UFC ranks, Wanderlei Silva (34-12-1, 1 NC) has gone a mediocre 3-5, recently falling to Rich Franklin at UFC 147 following a second-round TKO of Cung Le at UFC 139 after his original bout against Vitor Belfort fell through when Belfort broke his hand. Always entertaining, the 36-year-old Brazilian could be fighting to stay in the UFC when he takes on Stann at UFC on FUEL TV 8. With 22 wins in Pride, (15 of those knockouts) and a fight style that can be best described as fighting a tornado, Silva will be out to prove he is still a force to be reckoned with in the UFC middleweight division. Opening UFC on FUEL TV 8 Odds Analysis: MMA oddsmaker Nick Kalikas made Stann a slight -175 favorite (bet $175 to win $100) while Silva opened as a +145 underdog (bet $100 to win $145) according to the MMA odds. Silva does not have much left at this point and will be looking to avoid suffering his eighth loss in 11 fights. As it stands now, “The Axe Murderer” is 3-7 in his past 10 while Stann has dropped two of three and desperately needs to bounce back here with a victory. The two fighters have a recent common opponent in Leben but each had much different results, with Silva suffering a first-round knockout in less than 30 seconds at UFC 132 and Stann serving up a first-round KO six months earlier to start 2011 at UFC 125. Silva fought Franklin at a catchweight of 190 pounds and has complained about cutting weight to 185, which is why this bout is taking place at light heavyweight. Stann has gone 4-2 at middleweight and last fought at 205 against Phil Davis at UFC 109 back in early 2010. Davis earned a unanimous decision in that fight, and Stann also struggled against another former light heavyweight in Bisping. It will be interesting to see what the extra size will do to him compared to Silva, who has shown some success there in the past but is clearly on the downside of his career.
