On April 14th, ex-marine and former WEC Light Heavyweight Champion Brian “All American” Stann will test his worth against former pro boxer Alessio “Legionarius” Sakara. Both are brawlers who prefer to keep the fight standing and rely on their KO power to finish fights. If you are looking for a slugfest then tune in to Fuel TV at 6pm ET to watch this fight!
Both fighters are former light heavyweight fighters who moved down to middleweight, they have to cut around 25-30lbs in order to fight at that weight class. Although Sakara has fought longer at middleweight, it’s Stann who has had better luck in that division. Stann is the #9 ranked middleweight according to Sherdogs’ MMA rankings and he got into the top ten ranking within just 3 fights at middleweight. He used to be ranked at #7 before losing to Chael Sonnen in his last outing.
Alessio Sakara fought the aggressive slugger in Chris Leben when he made his middleweight debut in 2008. He lost via TKO in the first round. Brian Stann however defeated Chris Leben via TKO in the first round when they faced off in 2011. Defeating Leben and going toe to toe with Sonnen confirms that Stann can slug it out with the best in the middleweight division. This is partially why he is the betting favorite to win at UFC on Fuel TV 2, check out the BetDSI Sportsbook MMA odds below:
ALESSIO SAKARA +300
BRIAN STANN -400
Stann is the big favorite and I have to agree with the oddsmakers. Although Alessio Sakara has the pro boxing experience he isn’t an aggressor in the cage. He likes to circle the cage and counter strike, defensive striking won’t play out well against Brian Stann as he will close the distance and make you pay with punches or takedowns. Stann fights fearlessly for the most part, he just keeps coming. This not only earns him points for being the aggressor and controlling the cage, it creates a fast pace that Stann likes to fight in.
I don‘t feel that Sakara’s boxing will give him an advantage in this fight, nor his Black Belt in Brazilian Jiujitsu. Alessio has 2 wins via submission, only one more than Stann has. Furthermore, Sakara did not intelligently defend on his back against Chris Weidman in his last outing. He ate a lot of elbows and strikes in that match and showed weakness in defending ground and pound. I feel safe saying that I am going all the way with Brian Stann.
