UFC Fight Night 109 start time, TV schedule, who is fighting today at ‘Gustafsson vs Teixeira'

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) returns to the hurt business today (Sun., May 28, 2017) after a one-week break to stage UFC Fight Night 109 live from inside Ericsson Globe in Stockholm, Sweden. The promotion's latest mixed martial arts (MMA) FOX Sports 1-televised event, headlined by a Light Heavyweight fight between Alexander Gustafsson and Glover Teixeira, will also feature a another pivotal 205-pound showdown between Misha Cirkunov vs. Volkan Oezdemir.

What’s Hot:

With Jon Jones finally making his long-awaited return to action to face current 205-pound champion Daniel Cormeir at UFC 214 this summer, all seems right with the Light Heavyweight division. But, while Jon was out serving his one-year suspension and trying to get his life back on track, the rest of the division was still chugging along. And two men who were trying their best to stay at the top of the title race were Alexander Gustafsson and Glover Teixeira.

Coming off a win over Jan Blackhowicz in Sept. 2016, Alex will try to string together his first back-to-back victories for the first time since 2012. Yes, five years ago. That said, going 2-3 since then has not affected “The Mauler” much, as he is still the No. 1 ranked fighter in the division right behind the champion. Mind-boggling. That means an impressive win and showing against Glover could put the towering Swede right back into a title fight against the winner of “DC” and Bones.” Glover, meanwhile, is ranked at No. 2, which doesn't put him that far off from shot at the strap with a win, either. After taking out Jared Cannonier in his previous outing, Teixiera managed to get back on track after previously suffered an eight-second knockout loss to Anthony Johnson. With “Rumble” now retired, both Glover and Gus don’t have to worry about his heavy hands coming at them, and it’s one less contender they have to try to jump over in the title race.

But, they have another rising contender chomping at their behinds, as Misha Cirkunov looks to earn his fifth straight win inside the Octagon when he takes on Volkan Oezdemir in the co-headlining bout. A win for Misha will shoot him up the rankings and cloud up the title picture a bit more, which also has Jimi Manuwa lurking around, as well.

What’s Not:

I get it, not all cards can be UFC 211, but it seems most overseas events always get the short end of the stick when it comes to star power. Yes, they're getting their hometown hero to headline the event; apart from that, the rest of the card is really lacking. Just being honest.

Original Card vs. Actual Card:

This card, believe it nor not, changed quite a bit. After Magnus Cedenblad was removed from the card, Trevor Smith stepped in to face Chris Camozzi. Also, Emil Weber Meek was set to face Nordine Taleb but pulled out of the fight with an injury and replaced by Oliver Enkamp, who will be making his UFC debut.

Both Christian Colombo and Damian Grabowski suffered injuries and their heavyweight matchup was ultimately scrapped. Also, Mairbek Taisumov was set to face Joaquim Silva, but, he also pulled out of the fight with an injury and was replaced by Reza Madadi.

Injuries:

Magnus Cedenblad, Emil Weber Meek, Christian Colombo, Damian Grabowski and Joaquim Silva were all taken down by the injury bug prior to the event. That’s more injures for this one event than the last three pay-per-view (PPV) events combined.

New Blood:

Oliver Enkamp is the only new blood at the event, as he will get his first shot at the big leagues to face Nordine Taleb, and he’ll bring with him a perfect 7-0 mark after tearing it up on the regional circuit.

How The “Prelims” Look:

Sticking with this honest theme, it’s kind of hard to get pumped for the undercard. Not a lot of matchups intrigue me. That said, I am interested to see if Joaquim Silva can keep rolling and collect his tenth straight win, third inside the Octagon, and remain undefeated when he faces the always-tough Reza Madadi. Also, it will be interesting to see if Marcin held, a former title contender at Bellator MMA, can pick up his first win inside the Octagon after starting 0-2 when he faces Damir Hadžović.

Who Needs A Win Badly:

Chris Cammozzi — who has 19 fights inside the Octagon — has seen better days. In his last two bouts, which were four months apart, Chris came up short against Dan Kelly and Thales Lietes, which put him on the road for a potential three fight skid if he comes ups short against Trevor Smith. Camozzi had all the makings of a potential star with UFC, and even managed to come back after suffering four straight defeats to rack up a a 5-1 record before going on his most recent funk. And while he did manage to stay UFC employed after dropping four in a row, that was pre-WME-IMG era, which means a third straight loss could have him on thin ice with his new employers.

Interest Level: 5/10

I’m just keeping it real, this card doesn’t do much for me. Again, they can’t all be stacked, but I feel UFC could have possibly put a bit more effort in adding at least one — may two -- more intriguing bouts to the lineup. That said, cards like these always tend to surprise people, as we could end up having a good night of fights when it’s all said and done. I don’t know how well it will do ratings-wise, as such an early start time can’t be good. On the bright side, at least it’s live and not on tape delay. Yes, I’m looking at you Bellator MMA!

Full UFC Fight Night 109 fight card:

UFC Fight Night 109 Main Event:

205 lbs.: Alexander Gustafsson vs. Glover Teixeira

UFC Fight Night 109 Main Card on FOX Sports 1 (1 p.m. ET):

205 lbs.: Misha Cirkunov vs. Volkan Oezdemir
170 lbs.: Ben Saunders vs. Peter Sobotta
170 lbs.: Omari Akhmedov vs. Abdul Razak Alhassan
170 lbs.: Oliver Enkamp vs. Nordine Taleb
185 lbs.: Jack Hermansson vs. Alex Nicholson

UFC Fight Night 109 Prelims on FOX Sports 1 (11 a.m. ET):

135 lbs.: Pedro Munhoz vs. Damian Stasiak
185 lbs.: Chris Camozzi vs. Trevor Smith
155 lbs.: Reza Madadi vs. Mairbek Taisumov
170 lbs.: Nico Musoke vs. Bojan Velickovic

UFC Fight Night 109 Prelims on Fight Pass (10 a.m. ET):

170 lbs.: Jessin Ayari vs. Darren Till
155 lbs.: Damir Hadzovic vs. Marcin Held

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