Another action-packed weekend of fisticuffs has come and gone as Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) double-dipped once again, staging two separate events on the same day, though on opposites side of the spectrum.
UFC Fight Night 53 blew the roof off the Ericsson Globe Arena this past weekend (Sat., Oct. 4, 2014) in Stockholm, Sweden and aired on UFC Fight Pass, while UFC Fight Night 54 went down in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada on FOX Sports 1.
Plenty of fighters were left licking their wounds, including Tarec Saffiedine -- who was knocked out by Rory MacDonald in the main event of UFC Fight Night 54 (video). And Bryan Caraway -- who saw his consecutive win streak snapped by Rafael Assuncao in Halifax (read about it).
But which fighter is suffering from the worst post-fight hangover now less than 48 hours removed from the show?
"Gunni" looked to continue his unbeaten streak (13-0, 4-0 UFC) as he took on the always-dangerous Rick Story in the main event of UFC Fight Night 53. In doing so, not only would it earn him his fifth straight win inside the Octagon, but it would also boost him up the welterweight rankings and get him closer to a title shot.
Standing in his way, however, was Story, a man who in my humble opinion, wasn't necessarily deserving of such a high-profile fight after getting back in the win column by defeating the relatively unknown Leonardo Mafra in his previous outing.
But hey, I just write about this stuff, I don't book the fights.
Nevertheless, "The Horror" proved that, despite not being ranked in the top 15 (rankings here), he's still a dangerous threat in a division that's filled with contender after contender, by outpointing "Gunni" to pull off a pretty big upset and cool off one of the hottest fighters in the game today.
While both men had their shining moments, Story clearly dominated the fight and had plenty of shining moments, including flooring "Gunni" in round four with a clean fade away left hook to add to the punishment he was dishing out thanks to a high volume of low kicks.
Nelson did have a few bright spots of his own, but in the end, he couldn't do enough to sway the judges to score it in his favor.
The loss is a tough one for Gunnar, who will likely drop a few pegs on the rankings, slowing down his march toward the title, one this guy believes would've been his in under two years. Still, at 26 years of age, Nelson has plenty of time and fight in him to began a new streak and insert himself back in the mix.
And a fight against Mike Pyle -- who was schooled in his last outing -- in his next bout would prove a good comeback fight and tough challenge for the Icelandic combatant.
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