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[Fedorlei Gomipierre]

Wanderlei Silva vs. Brian Stann heads UFC on FUEL TV 8, seven other bouts set

by MMAjunkie.com Staff on Dec 12, 2012 at 11:15 pm ET

Former PRIDE middleweight champion Wanderlei Silva (34-12-1 MMA, 4-7 UFC) returns to Japan to face former WEC light heavyweight champ Brian Stann (12-5 MMA, 6-4 UFC).

UFC officials today announced the bout headlines the previously announced UFC on FUEL TV 8 fight card, which takes place March 3 at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan, just north of Tokyo. Due to the time difference, the card airs live in North America on March 2. The same venue hosted the UFC's most recent trip to the country, UFC 144 this past February.

Silva fights in Japan for the first time since 2006, when he lost via knockout to heavyweight Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic in the semifinals of PRIDE's open weight grand prix. As PRIDE's middleweight champion for more than five years, Silva fought 13 times in Saitama and is still considered one of MMA's biggest global superstars.

Meanwhile, Stann is best known outside of the cage for his work as a member of the U.S. Marines. However he was actually born in Japan on a U.S. military base. In addition to his time as a WEC champion, Stann has also fought 10 times in the UFC and now headlines his first event for the promotion.

In addition to the headlining bout, seven additional contests were confirmed including a previously announced heavyweight matchup between Mark Hunt (8-7 MMA, 3-1 UFC) and Stefan Struve (25-5 MMA, 9-3 UFC), who were slated to fight in May on the heavyweights-only UFC 146 main card, but Hunt was forced off the card with a knee injury.

Struve went on to beat replacement Lavar Johnson at UFC 146, and then he headlined UFC on FUEL TV 5 and knocked out Stipe Miocic. The 7-foot Dutchman now has won four straight fights and six of his past seven, all via stoppage and all in the UFC.

Hunt, meanwhile, is in the midst of a career resurgence. Since a six-fight losing skid, which included a series of PRIDE fights and a UFC-debut loss to Sean McCorkle, the New Zealander has posted consecutive UFC wins over Chris Tuchscherer, Ben Rothwell and Cheick Kongo.

Additionally, a batch of new contests announced for the card includes:
LW: Takanori Gomi (34-8 MMA, 3-3 UFC) vs. Diego Sanchez (23-5 MMA, 12-5 UFC)
WW: Dong Hyun Kim 16-2-1 MMA, 7-2 UFC) vs. Siyar Bahadurzada (21-4-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC)
MW:Riki Fukuda (19-6 MMA, 2-2 UFC) vs. Brad Tavares (9-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC)
LW:Cristiano Marcello (13-4 MMA, 1-1 UFC) vs. Kazuki Tokudome (11-3 MMA, 0-0 UFC)
BW:Takeya Mizugaki (16-7-2 MMA, 3-2 UFC) vs. Bryan Caraway (17-5 MMA, 2-0 UFC)
BW: Alex Caceres (8-5 MMA, 3-3 UFC) vs. Kyung Ho Kang (11-6 MMA, 0-0 UFC).


http://www.mmajunkie.com/news/2012/1...medium=twitter

Sick card and a somewhat winnable fight for Wand.

[Sakara=Excitement]

Well Wandy will be doing the stanky leg that's for sure.

[Fe1]

Stann has a hell of a chin. Too bad Wandy doesn't anymore I always look forward to seeing him fight but this makes me nervous.

[Bearded Big Country]

Silva in Japan? Fuck yes, I hope that place explodes when he comes out.
Vs Stann? Fuck no, I hope he doesnt die after stann hits him with a combo.

[Fe1]

I would rather see him fight Akiyama in a co-main event.

[Qball1974]

Originally Posted by Sakara=Excitement

Well Wandy will be doing the stanky leg that's for sure.

Why? MMA math? Wandy beat Bisping pretty easy.

[GangGreenWarrior]

Am I the only one here who sees Stann vs. Wandy as a metaphor for what the UFC did to Pride? Having Wandy get brutally KO'd by Stann in front of Japanese fans is sort of like giving a child a new puppy on Christmas only to get it euthanized in front of the child a few days later.

[1inthechamber]

Idk if I can watch this, watching wandi fight puts me at the brink of a heart attack. He's fought well past his prime and I think Stann will retire him.

[Fe1]

Am I the only one who thinks they need to put Shogun on this card?

[TheGoose]

and it's at 205lbs too time for old school Wand