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Alexander Gustafsson announced Sunday that he's still a forced to be reckoned with in the UFC light heavyweight division. Fighting at the Ericsson Globe in his hometown of Stockholm, Sweden, Gustafsson (18-4), who has come up just short in two well-contested UFC title shots, put on a show in the main event of UFC Fight Night 109, punishing an ultra-tough Glover Teixeira before finishing the job for a fifth-round KO.
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Teixeira (29-6), a Brazilian by way of Danbury, Conn., scored in the opening round with solid punching power. But the lanky Gustafsson adjusted and started utilizing his reach advantage to dart in and out. He dropped Teixeira several times during the course of the bout.
Only Teixeira's toughness got him into the final round, as he absorbed a beating. But Gustafsson hit two brutal uppercuts followed by a wicked right cross to the jaw that ended the bout on the spot at 1:07.
"I had good combinations, my uppercut worked today," Gustafsson said after his 14th career finish. "He's a great fighter and he's very tough, but it was my day today."
In the evening's co-feature bout, Switzerland light heavyweight Volkan Oezdemir proved himself to be no flash-in-the-pan with a 28-second knockout victory over Toronto's Misha Cirkunov.
Oezdemir (14-1), who splits his training between home and south Florida, tagged an onrushing Cirkunov with a blistering counter right behind the ear, ending Cirkunov's eight-fight win streak on the spot. The time of the finish was 28 seconds of the opening round.
The winner felt the victory reinforced his split-decision win over contender Ovince Saint Preux in February in his UFC debut, which many tabbed a fluke.
"That's the second time people were not thinking about me," Oezdemir said. "But man, I'm here now, count on me. I came from nowhere and I'm making my way to the top."
Russian native Omari Akhmedov was a finisher in their early days of his lightweight career, with just one of his first 15 fights going the distance. But the New Mexico-based fighter has turned into a grinder in his UFC career. His welterweight matchup with Ghana's Abdul Razak Alhassan (7-1) wasn't the most exciting fight you'll ever see. But Akhmedov outgrappled his foe, which was enough to get the decision. He won a split decision on two 30-27 cards in his favor and one curious 29-28 judgment in favor of Alhassan.
"I think that I want to go up a weight class for my next fight because maintaining my weight at this level is too hard," Akhmedov said. "So I'd like to see what the possibilities are if I move up."
At welterweight, Germany's Peter Sobotta (17-5-1) scored the most impressive win of his UFC tenure with a second-round TKO over respected veteran Ben Saunders of Orlando, Fla. Sobotta slowly wore Saunders down in the opening round. In the second, a big knee to the head in the clinch spelled the beginning of the end, as Sobotta piled on and got the finish at 2:59.
"This is my first proper knockout so to get it against such an accomplished fighter like Ben Saunders is great," said Sobotta, who has won nine of his past 10 fights. "This is the biggest win of my career so far. I trained so hard for this fight."
In another welterweight matchup, Montreal's Nordine Taleb (13-4) won a grueling battle with Stockholm's Oliver Enkamp. Taleb's strength and conditioning was the ultimate factor, as he imposed his will in the clinch and in grappling exchanges. Enkamp proved tough enough to go the distance, but the outcome was never in doubt. Taleb took a unanimous decision on scores of 30-27, 30-27, and 29-28.
"I'm feeling good," Taleb said after his second win in his past three fights. "I'm not completely satisfied with my performance, but it's a win and that's the important thing. I did what I needed to do tonight so it's a win for me."
Sweden native Jack Hermansson (15-3) fired up the crowd by making quick work of Florida's Alex Nicholson in the main-card opener. The middleweight, who's now based in Oslo, Norway, scored a quick takedown, then rained down punches and elbows from the top position until the bout was waved off exactly two minutes into the opening round for a TKO finish.
"Before I went out there I was super nervous," said Hermansson, who has won 10 of his past 11 fights. "But when I came out the crowd lifted me up with their energy. I felt like I belonged there. I will remember this moment for the rest of my life."
