Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) returned to action for UFC Fight Night 109: “Gustafsson vs. Teixeira,” which went down yesterday (Sun., May 28, 2017) inside Ericsson Globe Arena in Stockholm, Sweden airing live on FOX Sports 1. The promotion's latest mixed martial arts (MMA) card was headlined by a Light Heavyweight showdown that saw Alexander Gustafsson absolutely dominate Glover Teixeria for five rounds before knocking him out in the final frame (see it). Also, Volkan Oezdemir knocked out Misha Cirkunov in just 28 seconds in the co-main event of the evening (highlights).
Winner: Alexander Gustafsson
Who He Should Fight Next: Winner of Jon Jones vs. Daniel Cormier
That fight I personally had reserved for Jimi Manuwa; however, promotion president Dana White already stated Manuwa will compete at UFC 214 to serve as a potential backup should either “DC” or “Bones” not make it to the main event. That means “Poster Boy” has to win at least one more fight to get to the big dance. As a result, “The Mauler” is sitting pretty at the top spot thanks to his No. 1 ranking and his masterful performances against Teixeira. And a showdown between wither of those two men would be great, as “The Mauler” has losses to both, though it’s safe to say most would love to see a rematch between Jones and Gustafsson.
Winner: Volkan Oezdemir
Who She Should Fight Next: Jimi Manuwa
Surprised? Don’t be. After dismantling Misha Cirkunov, Volkan called for a fight against Manuwa. And since it’s already been established that Jimi has to win one more big fight to get to a title shot, it only makes sense to book this bout on July 29, 2017 as co-main event to Cormier vs. Jones 2. With only Mauricio Rua sandwiched in between the two of them in the rankings, I really like this bout. Granted, Volkan doesn’t have the “name value” just yet, but he is steadily climbing the rankings and a win over Manuwa puts him in a top three ranking, at least.
Winner: Peter Sobotta
Who He Should Fight Next: Matt Brown
After his impressive knockout win over Ben Saunders, Sobotta could find himself in the top 15 later this week. If not, a fight and win over an established veteran like Brown could do the trick. Granted, “Immortal” is riding a three-fight skid, but he still poses that threat, that “name” fighter Peter should be fighting next. A win for Sobotta definitely puts him in the rankings, giving him his third straight win in the process.
Winner: Omari Akhmedov
Who He Should Fight Next: Leon Edwards
Both rising contenders are slowly rising the ranks and are coming off big wins in their previous outings, with Omari ending Abdul Razak Alhassan’s perfect streak, and Edwards stopping Vincent Luque just a few months ago. They aren’t exactly household names at the moment, but showdown between the two is inevitable, and now is as good as time as any.
Winner: Nordine Taleb
Who He Should Fight Next: Zak Cummings
Taleb didn’t win any Swedish fans after taking out hometown hero Oliver Enkamp, but he did earn himself a trip back to the winner’s circle after losing to Santiago Ponzinibbio in his last outing. Cummings, meanwhile, is riding a two fight win streak. It’s really hard to sell a matchup for these two men against a top 15 foe, so let’s allow them to duke it out against one another for a chance to break in.
For play-by-play coverage and full results of the Fox Sports 1-televised UFC Fight Night 109 event click here.