Photo via MMAnytt.se
The UFC has wasted no time in acquiring of bevy of northern European fighters for its Swedish debut on April 14th, which will serve as UFC on Fuel 2. MMAnytt.se reported on several of the new fights that have been added to the card, including: Papy Abedi vs. James Head, Magnus Cedenblad vs. Francis Carmont, Simeon Thoresen vs Besam Yousef, and Cyrille Diabate vs. Jorgen Kruth.
Abedi (8-1) already made his UFC debut back in November in England, and despite his showmanship and flair for the dramatic, as evidenced by his dramatic entrance, the judoka looked simply outclassed against the always dangerous Thiago Alves, and ending up getting rocked on the feet, and then choked out. It was reported soon after that Abedi would get another UFC fight, and now that chance comes in his native Sweden against Head (7-2), an Oklahoma native and purple belt in BJJ under Rafael Lovato Jr. Head got a UFC contract after beating Gerald Harris on the regional scene, but lost UFC his debut to Nick Ring.
Cedenblad (10-3) is known as quite a character on the Swedish MMA scene, and with a solid fan base behind him he tried out for the 13th season of The Ultimate Fighter, but middleweights ended up being scrapped from the show. Now it appears the UFC has given him a consolation prize with a booking on their Swedish debut card. Rather large for a middleweight at 6'3 and with a well-rounded game, Cedenblad will nonetheless have his hands full with Carmont (17-7), a French powerhouse who's a training partner of Georges St. Pierre. A product of Firas Zahabi's Tristar gym in Montreal, Carmont brough a solid muay thai skill-set and some brutal ground and pround into his UFC debut against Chris Camozzi at UFC 137, with Carmont easily taking a dominant decision victory.
More details on the other bouts after the jump...
Thoresen (16-2-1), a Norwegian native and training partner of Joachim Hansen has been prominent on the European circuit for several years, competing mainly for British promotions like BAMMA and Ultimate Warrior Challenge. "The Grin" is a submission specialist, with 14 submissions in his 16 career victories, even against talented grapplers like Fabricio Nascimento who Thoresen choked out last summer. His opponent, Yousef (6-0) is a member of the Shooters MMA team, based out of Gothenburg, Sweden. Having fought exclusively for Swedish promotion, The Zone FC, Yousef has finished all but one of his six career fights.
Diabate (17-8-1), a French native, already has four fights under his belt in the UFC light heavyweight division, but with a .500 record, he'll need to impress to avoid getting buried as filler on European cards. "The Snake" got sloppy against Anthony Perosh back in November, a fight he was clearly winning in the first round before gettign taken down and choked out by Perosh in the second. Kruth (5-0) is a well known kickboxer in Sweden and a former WMC Super Heavyweight Muay-Thai World Champion with a pro kickboxing record of 71-14-2. Now training MMA full time under Swedish MMA pioneer, Omar Bouiche, at the Pancrase Gym Sweden along with fellow UFC newcomer Cedenblad, "The Last Viking" is lacking in MMA experience compared to Diabate, but has finished all of his pro fights (three by TKO, two by submission).
The UFC on Fuel 2 card now includes:
-Brian Stann vs. Alessio Sakara
-Damarques Johnson vs. John Maguire
-Papy Abedi vs. James Head
-Magnus Cedenblad vs. Francis Carmont
-Simeon Thoresen vs. Besam Yousef
-Cyrille Diabate vs. Jorgen Kruth
0 recs | 90 comments
As long
As it has Gustafsson headlining not a bad card. Any other Swedish based dudes know when tickets go on sale?
taptomyarmbar - January 5, 2012
I'm Danish, but
MMAnytt (I think) wrote something about tickets going on sale next week.
And MMAJunkie reported that Sakara vs Stann is the main event. I really, really, really, really hope that isn’t the case.
wonderfulspam - January 5, 2012
That is not a good main if so
Awful in fact
taptomyarmbar - January 5, 2012
UFC.com just reported the Stann-Sakara fight
and made no mention of it being a main event or co-main event. I think Junkie might have made a mistake.
Scott Haber - January 5, 2012
Fingers crossed
I can’t imagine they would headline with 2 guys coming off losses
taptomyarmbar - January 5, 2012
Well, they did just that with Hardy vs Lytle not too long ago…
Shnak - January 6, 2012
Good call
Was racking my brains trying to think of one and couldn’t!
taptomyarmbar - January 6, 2012
Thank fuck
Here’s hoping Gustafsson gets booked soon.
wonderfulspam - January 5, 2012
Pretty sure
He will, against a reasonable name too
taptomyarmbar - January 5, 2012
Yeah, it should be a no-brainer
Franklin is injured so I imagine they’ll book him against Lil Nog or Thiago Silva.
wonderfulspam - January 5, 2012
Nog I think
But either would be a good matchup, Nog the easier fight so they will prob go with that
taptomyarmbar - January 5, 2012
As a Dane
I can get fully behind Gustafsson when he fights almost anyone. Nog would be tough to root against, though, I’d much rather shout obscenities at Thiago Silva.
wonderfulspam - January 5, 2012
second week of january is what the rumor says
should be sold on ticnet
the guy with the big nose - January 5, 2012
Thanks
taptomyarmbar - January 5, 2012
Who who who and who???
God, BECW is gonna kill me that week.
IKiIIed007 - January 5, 2012
It's the final event of the season
Should be fun!
wonderfulspam - January 5, 2012
God, I'm glad I didn't draft you.
Paulo Filho's Psychiatrist - January 5, 2012
Kruth in the UFC. Never thought I’d live to see it, he has had a long road. And a perfect matchup for him too, should be a great striker’s fight
Disco1Stu - January 5, 2012
Yeah, didn’t see that one coming. He said he only plans on fighting like a year longer, so it’s pretty cool that he can cap off his career with adding UFC to the resume.
Horselover Fat - January 5, 2012
Does Francis Carmont qualify as a prospect? I haven’t seen any fights of his but I’m sure he’s got some skills if he trains with GSP at Tri Star
savik - January 5, 2012
Carmont looked very good against Camozzi. I suppose that he qualifies as a prospect, but with so many fights already, it’s hard to say.
chrisbboy82 - January 5, 2012
I don't know anything about James Head
other than he lost to Nick Ring, but I suspect his night will end in a hospital.
If Papy displayed that level of don’t-give-a-fuck against Thiago Alves, he’s going commit a crime against humanity in the cage that night.
TheFilt - January 5, 2012
I fucking hope so
Picked him against Alves, which proved foolish— but it was too early for him to take that kind of fight. I still think he’s gonna be a beast at 170 in the UFC, and Head is gonna get ethered.
Charles Awad - January 5, 2012
Abedi should take this pretty easily. James Head really doesn’t excel at any part of MMA, and he is just kind of there in the UFC.
chrisbboy82 - January 5, 2012
Wow
Are all these guys signed with UFC? In that case Sweden just became like the 5th or 6th top country in terms of fighters in the UFC no?
Disco1Stu - January 5, 2012
a couple of them will probably be released should they lose
the guy with the big nose - January 5, 2012
yea I expect there to be some pruning after this event but still…they didn’t have these many local fighters in Germany did they? Some of these names I’ve been hearing about for well over 10 years now, several of them are coming from gyms I’ve been to or have had friends training at…very exciting, can’t believe this is happening in such a big way in Sweden xD
Disco1Stu - January 5, 2012
same here
hell hamid corasani of tuf-fame was my old instructor! getting star-strucked over here
the guy with the big nose - January 5, 2012
You train at GBG?
taptomyarmbar - January 5, 2012
I used to
had back surgery last year and haven’t gotten around to start again
the guy with the big nose - January 5, 2012
you as well?
the guy with the big nose - January 5, 2012
No
I need to get back to it asap, but my Swedish isn’t really good enough just yet. Not trained over here yet.
taptomyarmbar - January 5, 2012
as long as you speak the universal language of violence
you should be alright ;)
the guy with the big nose - January 5, 2012
amen :-)
taptomyarmbar - January 6, 2012
So Akira isn't his real name?
av1o3 - January 5, 2012
Definitely not
Horselover Fat - January 5, 2012
Akira is his fighter nick. His name is Hamid.
yonsson - January 5, 2012
They just signed them
Specifically for the UFC: Sweden event.
wonderfulspam - January 5, 2012
man, I've been following a lot of these guys during the past years
good to see them make it to the big stage. especially magnus “jycken (pooch)” cedenblad. checks his blog out once in a while, seems to be a cool dude
the guy with the big nose - January 5, 2012
kind of sucks in one way though
that they sign all these guys that we’ve been watching on our swedish regional shows, one was kind of hoping that when the ufc comes, we get to see the ufc’s talent, not the same old swedish guys
the guy with the big nose - January 5, 2012
They did the same
In the UK. Cards there were packed with regional UK guys at first.
taptomyarmbar - January 5, 2012
how can an athletic commission
sanction a fight between a guy with 26 fights, and a guy with 5 fights? That seems reckless to me
OneFitchTwoFitchRedFitchBlueFitch - January 5, 2012 via mobile
Kickboxing experience?
It’s not like it’s going to be the 6th time he’s standing across from someone who’s trying to beat him up.
wonderfulspam - January 5, 2012
Yep. Also he’s going against another striker in Diabate, should be fun. Kruth is sort of like a Swedish hero, arguably our biggest name in combat sports the last decade. Had a ton of fights in K-1 back in the day.
Horselover Fat - January 5, 2012
joprecis
Didn’t he used to go by the nick “Mr. Knockout”? Almost as cheesy as “the last viking” haha, So stoked to see him in the UFC, god knows he’s paid his dues
Disco1Stu - January 5, 2012
Really? Hehe, not sure, I have to admit I sort of like “The Last Viking” though. Yeah he’s earned it no doubt, it would be so incredibly epic if he could get a sweet KO against Diabate. Did you go to the latest Rumble of the Kings last month? I was there and saw him win, was expecting it could be one of the last times we get to see him. Still not sure about going to this UFC show though, have to see about prices and upcoming bookings.
Horselover Fat - January 5, 2012
On reflection
It’s probably more reckless to sanction Diabaté for an MMA fight given what seems to be a total lack of knowledge of the ground game on his part.
wonderfulspam - January 5, 2012
Yeah, heh. Kruth might actually be better than him on the ground! Would be pretty fun if he subbed him.
Horselover Fat - January 5, 2012
Very possible.
He pulled off a slick triangle from mount in his 2nd MMA fight:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFKynoiXf-A
Scott Haber - January 5, 2012
In the event that
Gustafsson gets booked against Lil Nog/Thiago Silva and (at least) one more quality fight is added, how would you rate your chances of going? I’m seriously considering it but I can’t think of anyone I could convince to make the trip from Copenhagen.
wonderfulspam - January 5, 2012
Well, the thing is, I’m currently between jobs and thus does not have a big amount of cash laying around for UFC tickets. I have some things cooking, been to two interviews this week, but realistically I probably won’t be able to purchase tickets until late next month or so. Or at the very least I have to have a job secured first. So the question is, will there still be tickets left at that time? Very uncertain, obviously.
I think we should hook up though if it does go down, we’ll have to be in contact.
Horselover Fat - January 5, 2012
Fair enough
I’m unemployed at the moment as well but I do have a wee bit of cash stashed for special occasions. Any idea what the ticket prices are going to be like? I have no idea what to expect. 1000 SEK or so for half-decent seats?
wonderfulspam - January 5, 2012
sounds about right
hard on a poor student, however, I found out that if you don’t buy the required books, you can buy beer and ufc tickets!
the guy with the big nose - January 5, 2012
My guess is 600 for worst seats, 800 for mid level, 1000sek på okej seats.
yonsson - January 5, 2012
Fighter Galla, who do events in Copenhagen from time to time
Charge the equivalent of 350 SEK for the cheapest seats and 600 SEK for the expensive ones. By that comparison, 800 SEK for mid-level seats at a UFC event is a steal.
wonderfulspam - January 5, 2012
Yeah I don’t know to be honest. Maybe what yonsson said. I payed 600 SEK for good seats, like ten rows up in the middle of the long side at Rumble of the Kings last month. Had really good visibility of the ring from there. But this is a different arena, and I expect the UFC name to bring higher prices. I’m not going to pay super overprice just because it’s the UFC though, so I’ll have to wait and see about that as well.
Horselover Fat - January 5, 2012
Yeah, I remember you writing about the RotK ticket prices, that’s why I was worried the UFC tickets might end up being two or three times as expensive. We’ll wait and see, I guess!
wonderfulspam - January 5, 2012
As I see it. They can’t take top money for seats with that card, but Globen should be expensive to rent. If they want to sell out, they can’t sell the seats to expensive. To not sell out (or close to it) would look really bad.
yonsson - January 5, 2012
True. I don’t know, I still expect them to be fairly high. How high? Not sure.. but yes, they do not want to have a half-filled Globen. We’ll know soon enough, let’s hope for the best.
Horselover Fat - January 5, 2012
Given they are testing the waters here I expect them to start the prices high, I’d be amazed if there were a lot of tickets under 1000 SEK.
taptomyarmbar - January 5, 2012
agreed
they need a stellar main event and one or two more good fighters to get my money. ain’t gonna pay to see an overpriced regional show.
the guy with the big nose - January 5, 2012
Agree! So far, the card is disappointing, at best.
yonsson - January 5, 2012
You could probably convince me if i can come up with the money and the card gets beefed up.
Magaca - January 5, 2012
Kruth is a very experienced kickboxer.
How is it reckless?
Chris Weidman was 5-0 when he faced Sakara who was 15-6; Matt Riddle had 0 pro fights and his first two were against two veterans in Dante Rivera and Steve Bruno; and Einemo was 6-1 when he faced the 20-2 Dave Herman…no one complained about any of those match-ups being reckless.
Scott Haber - January 5, 2012
They are both kickboxers/muay thai fighters. Given Diabate’s sucky ground game this is a perfect first matchup for Kruth, this will be a striking match and Kruth has been around the block more than a few times when it comes to striking
Disco1Stu - January 5, 2012
I just hope he makes weight fairly easy. He used to be big as hell. Don’t remember what he weighed in @ against Bob Sapp.
yonsson - January 5, 2012
Not going to be a problem, I think he weighed in at like 97 kg last month when he fought at HW, don’t remember exactly but about that number. And 205 lbs = 93 kg, so it’s all good
Horselover Fat - January 5, 2012
Yeah I just checked, his official weight for the Yamaguchi fight was 96,9 kg
Horselover Fat - January 5, 2012
Which is 213 lbs, google tells me
Horselover Fat - January 5, 2012
Good catch! Thanks. Then it's all technical training, and not all weight loss training.
yonsson - January 5, 2012
Yeah, no problem
Horselover Fat - January 5, 2012
And before that he used to be pretty lanky! He’s our very own Alistair
Disco1Stu - January 5, 2012
Swedish chef vs Lew Zealand on the undercard
RECE ROCK - January 5, 2012 via mobile
Interesting that they gave Head to Papy Abedi
Wait…what?
SSreporters - January 5, 2012
Is that not the second time you've made that joke?
Still, I chuckled both times.
wonderfulspam - January 5, 2012
I think I said something else
And it’s a ridiculously easy joke to make.
As for the fight – Abedi by murder.
SSreporters - January 5, 2012
This is what I think they're going to do with the UK cards
Instead of pissing around with some bullshit “numbered event” headlined by guys who barely get on PPVs in the US, they’ll just make these “UFC on FUEL” or “UFC on FX” to fit the quality of the card with the channel it should be on.
I wonder if this will be on tape delay due to the time difference, though.
SSreporters - January 5, 2012
Time difference is 6 hours, so probably not. It could air from 22:00
yonsson - January 5, 2012
Ops. Sorry. If prelims starts @18pm in sweden, that would be @12 mid day.
yonsson - January 5, 2012
If it had been a Wednesday show
Like what was originally rumoured, then it would most likely have been tape delayed.
Prelims usually start three hours before the maincard, right? 8pm prelims, 11pm maincard would see the maincard being aired at 2pm PT/5pm ET so it’s definitely doable.
wonderfulspam - January 5, 2012
MMA Junkie says this card will air live 3 PM ET/12 PM PT
SSreporters - January 5, 2012
Akira Corossani vs. Dennis Bermudez also on this card
SSreporters - January 5, 2012
Source??
yonsson - January 5, 2012
http://www.kimura.se/ufc-sweden-hamid-corassani-moter-dennis-bermudaz.html ??
yonsson - January 5, 2012
http://www.kimura.se/ufc-sweden-hamid-corassani-moter-dennis-bermudaz.html
SSreporters - January 5, 2012
Uppfattat. Tack. Hade hoppats på en engelsk sida dock.
yonsson - January 5, 2012
What.. rematch, already? No fresh match-ups available for these guys? Well, okay.
Horselover Fat - January 5, 2012
I think that if Bermudez can get the takedown, Akira will lose.
chrisbboy82 - January 5, 2012
Hellboy Hansen?
I wonder if there has been any effort by the ufc to sign him for this show, or if he’s even looking to fight right now
Trust Doesn't Rust - January 6, 2012
Hansen has said some very unpleasant things about the UFC
in the past, so I wouldn’t be surprised if they don’t go out of their way to sign him.
Scott Haber - January 6, 2012
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