UFC Fight Night 53 took place Saturday afternoon from the Ericsson Globe Arena in Stockholm Sweden, and it was an explosive night of first round finishes. In the main event, welterweights Rick Story and Gunnar Nelson went to battle for five hard-fought rounds, with Story picking up the split decision win. Let’s take a look at who LWOS would book next for the main card winners and losers:
Rick Story: Since a 2012 submission loss to Demian Maia, Story has arguably won six fights in a row. Unfortunately for him, the judges haven’t always agreed, giving him split decision losses to Mike Pyle and Kelvin Gastelum. Excluding those questionable losses, Story looks like he’s rounding himself back into the form that saw him beat current UFC welterweight champion Johny Hendricks back in 2010. Up next, a fight with undefeated wrestler Ryan LaFlare would be great. Both are strong grapplers, with a straight-forward mentality that would make for a great, potentially bruising fight.
Gunnar Nelson: With the loss, the hype train on Nelson isn’t stopped, but it is momentarily paused. Nelson struggled to get Story to the floor in their bout, and his striking defense was based more on his speed than his technique, which allowed Story to touch him up a bit. It’s been suggested that Nelson, who cuts practically no weight to make the welterweight limit, drop down to lightweight, but if he doesn’t, next he should fight crafty veteran Mike Pyle. Pyle has the ground game to test Nelson on the floor, and the striking to continue to test him on the feet.
Max Holloway: Since losing to Conor McGregor in August of 2013, Holloway has ripped off four straight wins, all of them finishes. The Hawaiian is still just 22-years-old, yet he already has 10 UFC fights. The kid is ready for another step up in competition, and that step up should be Dennis Siver. Siver returned from a nine month PED suspension on the prelims of this same card, picking up a unanimous decision win over UFC debutant Charles Rosa. Holloway vs Siver would be an exciting clash of top flight featherweight strikers.
Akira Corassani: Corassani has lost two in a row now, both by knockout. The Swede is still a fun fighter to watch though, and a match-up against fellow TUF veteran Sam Sicilia would be a rousing scrap. Both men are action fighters, and combined, they have a .500 UFC record. With their jobs possibly on the line in a potential clash, this bout would be sure to be fireworks.
Jan Blachowicz: The long awaited UFC debut could not have gone any better for Blachowicz, the former KSW light heavyweight champion. He should next fight the winner of Fabio Maldonado vs Hans Stringer, who square off later this month in Brazil at UFC 179. Both will stand and trade with the Pole, and a fight against Maldonado looks especially enticing.
Ilir Latifi: This was a tough loss for Latifi, who looked great in his last two bouts. But sometimes, you get kicked right in the gut, and there’s nothing you can do but fall over. For an interesting styles clash, he should next face Matt Van Buren. Van Buren is coming off a loss to Corey Anderson in July in the TUF 19 light heavyweight final. The height differential alone would make this a must-see fight, with Van Buren checking in at a towering 6’5″ and Latifi coming in at a stout 5’8″.
Mike Wilkinson: Wilkinson picked up the most shocking win on the card with his spectacular first round knockout of hometown favorite Niklas Backstrom. This has been a tough stretch as of late for Wilkinson, coming off of a loss to Rony Jason last June, followed by an injury-riddled year. But the weight of the world was lifted off his shoulders on Saturday with one powerful overhand right. Up next, I’d like to see the Brit take on Zubaira Tukhugov. Tukhugov also picked up a first round knockout on the card, dispatching of Ernest Chavez in his fight.
Niklas Backstrom: As I mentioned, this was a surprising loss for Backstrom, who was not only heavily favored in the fight, but was decisively winning it right up until the moment he was knocked out cold. Backstrom remains an intriguing prospect at featherweight despite the setback. Up next, a fight against Daniel Hooker would be fun. Like Backstrom, Hooker is long and rangy for the division, and it would be interesting to see how each deals with the length of the other.
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Main Photo via AFP PHOTO / JONATHAN NACKSTRAND / Getty Images
