UFC 179 results recap: Fabio Maldonado vs Hans Stringer fight review and analysis

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Light Heavyweight fighters Fabio Maldonado and Hans Stringer went to war last night (Sat., Oct. 25, 2014) at UFC 179 inside Maracanazinho Gymnasium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Maldonado may never be a contender, but he did have a nice little win streak going before attempting to jump up a weight class against an elite Heavyweight in Stipe Miocic. Back at his usual weight class, Maldonado looked to give another demonstration of his pugilistic talent.

As a rather new fighter in UFC, Stringer was simply trying to make a mark on the division. Of course, a win over a fan favorite in front of his home crowd would have been an excellent way to do just that.

Sadly for the Dutch fighter, this fight was less forgettable but significantly more damning.

As is the case in many of Maldonado's fights, he was soundly out-grappled in the first round. Despite his opponent doing very little from the bottom, Stringer failed to really push for submissions or do much damage.

Consequently, Maldonado entered the second round fairly fresh. On the other hand, his opponent was quite tired. After being invited to kick and punch Maldonado at will, Stringer chose to shoot a takedown. Again, he did very little with his top position.

This time, Maldonado was able to work back to his feet. Stringer -- who was more than gassed -- attempted a takedown and slipped, allowing Maldonado to take top position. Showing a solid top game, Maldonado used solid hip pressure to land a series of nice left hooks to the head.

Before long, Stringer stopped reacting. He covered up tight and simply let Maldonado pound on him. Since he refused to defend himself, the ref had little choice but to stop the bout after a decent flurry of punches from "The Iron Hillbilly."

Maldonado does what he does. The Brazilian has very little wrestling, jiu-jitsu or defensive boxing, yet he can win fights inside the Octagon. It's extraordinary ... and I love it.

For the umpteenth time, Maldonado lost the first round clearly. Then, his opponent slowed down and the Brazilian took advantage with his volume striking. The only difference is that Maldonado used top pressure and ground strikes, rather than his signature body blows against a fatigue opponent pinned to the cage.

While Maldonado's game quite clearly has flaws, he'll keep putting on entertaining battles against mid to lower tier light heavyweights for as long as UFC lets him. Expect a similar match up for his next bout, likely in his home country of Brazil.

Not only did Stringer lose to Maldonado -- which has to feel bad -- but he managed to lose to him on the ground. After talking about his improved conditioning, the Dutchman gassed in the second round AND mentally folded when pressured.

Hardly a star-making performance.

The lone bright side of this situation is that Stringer is fairly young. He has time to improve upon his weak points, and the light heavyweight division is weak enough for him to gain experience as he gets better. In his next fight, Stringer will likely end up against a debuting fighter.

At UFC 179, Maldonado continued his streak of overcoming early adversity and escaping with a victory. Just how high up in the division will Maldonado's skill set carry him?

For complete UFC 179 "Aldo vs Mendes" results and play-by-play click HERE.