UFC on Fuel TV 2: Will Brian Stann vs. Alessio Sakara be an all-out war?
This Saturday’s UFC on Fuel TV card features a co-main event bout between Brian Stann and Alessio Sakara. Like its main-event counterpart, this fight features two strikers known to look for the knockout early and often. While all the makings for a toe-to-toe war are in place here, Stann believes the opposite may take place, saying the following on an interview on Fuel TV’s “UFC Tonight”:
“If we go toe-to-toe in this fight, I believe I have the advantage. I feel I have more power than anyone in the middleweight division, and I’m happy to prove that in any fight. I think we haven’t seen Alessio Sakara particularly go toe-to-toe, in several fights. I think he’s tried that. It hasn’t necessarily been successful for him. I think we’re gonna see more of a mobile and moving, elusive, fast Alessio Sakara. That’s what I plan on seeing.” – Via mmamania.com
With a gameplan in place to face Sakara, Stann will look to gain an impressive finish and get back into the top levels of the UFC Middleweight division. He was moving well towards a title shot last year, before a submission loss in an October bout with Chael Sonnen derailed his hype train a bit. Stann had the following to say on the subject:
“I think a win — a finish — put’s me right back where I was; back on the ladder, climbing towards a title shot. Hopefully, I’ll only be two or three fights away from one after a win over Alessio.”
From the sound of things, it appears that Stann is very confident heading into Saturday’s bout, and may be looking past Alessio Sakara and ahead to future title contention. It is true that Sakara is returning from surgery and may suffer from ring rust, just as Thiago Silva in the main bout, but in today’s UFC, one can never look past a dangerous striker such as “Legionarius.”
Further Reading: Brian Stann vows to finish Alessio Sakara in Sweden, wants Chael Sonnen rematch
