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UFC FIGHT NIGHT 53 LIVE RESULTS: Penick's event report for "Nelson vs. Story" card from Sweden
Oct 4, 2014 - 3:55:02 PM UFC FIGHT NIGHT 53 LIVE RESULTS: Penick's event report for "Nelson vs. Story" card from Sweden

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

UFC FIGHT NIGHT 53
OCTOBER 4, 2014
LIVE FROM STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN

=====UFC Fight Pass Prelims=====

-Zubaira Tukhugov def. Ernest Chavez via TKO 4:21 of the first round

Note: Tukuhugov looked fantastic. He hurt Chavez early and often, then kept up the pressure once he had him badly hurt late in the round. He finished it off with a swarm of strikes, and the referee could have stopped things much earlier than he did.

-Mairbek Taisumov def. Marcin Bandel via TKO at 1:01 of the first round

Note: Another brutal, but excellent, finish. Taisumov knocked Bandel with a shotgun-like right hand, then landed another big right hand to finish things off. Bandel tried to turn back into him, but the ref saved him from added punishment.

-Krzysztof Jotko def. Tor Troeng via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-26, 30-27)

Note: That was all Jotko, though he had some cardio issues that had him fading down the stretch a bit. He was dominating Troeng on the feet and in the clinch, though, delivering a brutal series of knees to the body and head, several grounded knees, some nice elbows, etc. It was a varied and continuous assault for much of the 15 minute fight.

-Cathal Pendred def. Gasan Umalatov via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

Note: Kind of a joke of a decision, but it was just bad start to finish, and Umalatov failed to do enough to avoid a bad decision. Umalatov scored a knockdown in the second round for what was the most decisive of the fight, but the first and third were just bad rounds that left enough interpretation to the judges to take it out of his hands.

-Dennis Siver def. Charles Rosa via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Note: If you aren't watching this today live, go back and find this on UFC Fight Pass. It was a massively entertaining fight with crazy ground scrambles and one hell of a gutsy and poised performance from Rosa on a week's notice against a longtime vet. Siver was still too much for him, but he made an excellent showing for himself, and kept fighting and looking for openings until the end. So much fun.

-Nico Musoke def. Alexander Yakovlev via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Note: Not a great fight, especially coming right after the Siver-Rosa bout. Really not much to say about it. There was some competitiveness, but it just wasn't all that entertaining.

-Magnus Cedenblad def. Scott Askham via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Note: Cedenblad nearly got finished at the end of the second round, getting flattened with a front kick to the face. But survive he did, going on to control the third round to take the decision in front of the hometown crowd. Solid fight, nothing special, though.


=====UFC Fight Pass Main Card=====

-John Gooden and Dan Hardy open up the separate stream (which remains a very stupid part of these Fight Pass events), running down what's coming with the four fights remaining here this afternoon.


MAIN CARD FIGHT ONE: NIKLAS BACKSTROM VS. MIKE WILKINSON (FEATHERWEIGHT)

ROUND ONE: They traded leg kicks early. Wilkinson caught one but Backstrom got his leg free. Backstrom has a clear height and reach advantage. Wilkinson landed a solid leg kick. Backstrom went high with a kick, then grabbed a Thai clinch and got in two good knees. Backstrom started closing the distance and then Wilkinson floored him out of nowhere! He followed up with several strikes on the ground and Backstrom was out cold! The crowd was in complete shock. On the replay, that was a nutso counter from Wilkinson. He ate a foot to the face, then came back in with an overhand right that caught Backstrom on the jaw. Holy hell.

WINNER: Wilkinson via KO at 1:19 of the first round

-Wilkinson was ecstatic with the win, and was celebrating as such, laughing as well, and the crowd wasn't happy with him. Backstrom interrupted his post-fight interview and said "that's f***ed up" into the microphone.

STAR RATING: (***-) Shocking upset win here, and a nasty KO to boot. He ate a front kick to the face - the second one he took flush to the face - and landed the KO blow. Backstrom let his guard down and got caught in the worst way possible.


MAIN CARD FIGHT TWO: ILIR LATIFI VS. JAN BLACHOWICZ (LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT)

ROUND ONE: Blachowicz opened with a few leg kicks. Latifi tried to rush him. Blachowicz recovered quickly, then rushed back in at him and hurt him with a body kick. Latifi backed up to the corner and Blachowicz followed him. He started unleashing strikes and Latifi went down. More strikes on the ground and Latifi had to be saved by the ref. Another upset on this card.

WINNER: Blachowicz via TKO at 1:58 of the first round

STAR RATING: (**+) Impressive work from Blachowicz. He pounced as soon as he recognized Latifi was hurt, and he took full advantage of the opening. Big finish for him in his UFC debut.


MAIN CARD FIGHT THREE: AKIRA CORASSANI VS. MAX HOLLOWAY (FEATHERWEIGHT)

ROUND ONE: After some tentative opening seconds, both fighters exchanged solid strikes in the center of the cage. Corassani landed an overhand right. Holloway leaving himself open early on. Corassani scored with another hard combination. Holloway landed a hard uppercut as he moved forward, and avoided a bit on the return from Corassani. Holloway just missed a hard right hand strike. Hollway tossed out a high kick that was blocked. They traded strikes again. Holloway landed a hard inside leg kick. He dropped Corassani with a right hand. He started unleashing strikes as Corassani tried to recover. He managed to do so and get to his feet, clinching to try to get his bearings. Holloway turned him around, then dropped him again with another right hand. He unleashed punch after punch after punch until the ref finally stepped in. Awful stoppage, Corassani was out well before the stoppage.

WINNER: Holloway via TKO at 3:11 of the first round

STAR RATING: (***) Fantastic performance yet again from Holloway. Started a bit slow, then came on strong, and when he had Corassani hurt he didn't let up. That's four straight stoppage wins since dropping decisions to Dennis Bermudez and Conor McGregor back to back.


MAIN EVENT FIGHT FIVE: GUNNAR NELSON VS. RICK STORY (WELTERWEIGHT)

ROUND ONE: Story opened with a leg kick. He landed another to the outside of Nelson's lead leg. Story continued landing leg kicks on the outside. Nelson stepped in with a high kick that was blocked. He landed a nice right hand and engaged a brief clinch with a few strikes. Nelson landed a hard body kick, then reset. They clinched in the center after Story missed a strike. They traded knees. Nelson pulled off a fantastic trip takedown out of the clinch. Story kicked him off and popped to his feet on the cage. Nelson went for the trip again, but Story avoided it. Nelson landed a hard knee to the body. Story finally separated with a strike. Nelson's stance was reminiscent of Lyoto Machida. Story tripped him up with a well timed low kick. Nelson went high with a kick but it was blocked. Story connected with a left, then another inside leg kick as Nelson tried to stalk. Nelson got in a knee. Nelson missed a straight kick and covered up. Both fighters missed strikes or had them blocked down the stretch. Story connected on a right hand that opened a cut on the bridge of Nelson's nose just before the horn.

Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Nelson. Good round for the stoic Icelandic fighter, who had Story off rhythm a bit through the opening minutes. Story came back solidly the final minute, though.

ROUND TWO: Story had a solid leg kick to open up. Nelson connected with a hard body kick. He missed a spinning kick to the head and wound up on his back tripped up. Story let him stand back up. Nelson connected on a nice straight right. Story came forward with a left hand. Story blocked a strike but missed the counter. Nelson landed a sneaky left hook that cut Story open. Nelson landed a right hand. Story threw out several body strikes as Nelson tried to grab a Thai clinch. Story missed a few more strikes, then got through with a couple. He landed a hard leg kick. Nelson landed a nice right hand. Nelson took a leg kick and landed a few strikes. Nelson popped in with a few more jabs. Story landed a good left hand. Nelson landed a right hand. Competitive matchup here. Story landed a right hand. Nelson landed a nice left hand that backed Story up. Nelson landed a good body strike, then ate two hard left hands before the horn. Hard round to score.

Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Nelson. Barely. Don't have a problem with that round going to Story, though. Extremely close. Story has a bit more output, Nelson having a bit more of an effect with his strikes.

ROUND THREE: Nelson drove in early but Story only went down to a knee. Nelson landed a hard right hand. He got in a really nice knee from the clinch before letting Story out. Story landed several leg kicks. Nelson landed a right hand to the body. They traded strikes again. Nelson landed a hard kick to the body. Story fired in with a few strikes. Nelson kept moving in and Story threw counters as he engaged. Nelson landed a good right hand. Nelson went high with a kick that was blocked. Story landed a good body punch. Story got in a nice combination to the body against the cage. Nelson was slowing down a bit. Story landed a few more. Story ducked under a punch and landed a couple of counters. Story landed another multi-punch combo. Story again with a close combination before the horn.

Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Story. Interesting fight here into the late rounds. Nelson looks to be fading a bit, as his output slowed to single punches while Story picked it up with his combinations that round.

ROUND FOUR: Story opened up with more leg kicks, then got in with a good punch to the body. Nelson landed a good strike. Nelson again firing in with one strike, but with no follow up. Story dropped Nelson with a left hand. Story tried to unload strikes on the ground, but Nelson covered up well and Story eventually stood up and made him stand. Nelson shot in and nearly got the takedown, but Story held it off. Nelson landed a good left hook. Nelson shot in again, but Story stuffed the attempt. Nelson clinched and Story landed several strikes in combination. Story with another left hand. Nelson landed a right. Story landed a hard outside leg kick. Story landed another left hand, then doubled it up. Story landed another short combination, and Nelson's offense has disappeared entirely. Story landed another left hand. He popped in with another. Story connected again on a left hand. He landed another hard left hand, then a right just before the horn.

Penick's Scorecard: 10-8 Story. Dominant round. Nelson's offense is gone, he got knocked down, and Story continues to unleash strikes.

ROUND FIVE: Story pressed in early and landed a good left hand. Story landed a hard leg kick and covered up. Story popped Nelson's head back with yet another left hand. He's been finding a home for that for the better part of the last 15 minutes. Story landed a nice left, then got in a hard knee to the body in a clinch. Story landed another left hand. Add one to the body for good measure. Story landed a couple more strikes. Story landed more in combination. Nelson landed a hard right hand. Story fired back with a left. They traded punches again. Story landed another left hand. Nelson landed a good right hand. Story connected on several more. Story back to the body. They traded punches simultaneously. Story with another combo. Story with another left hand as he backed Nelson to the cage. Story got in more body strikes as Nelson clinched. More strikes traded. Story pressed in and landed another hard left hand. Story continued pressing forward. Nelson landed a right hand. Story with another furious combo at the cage. They traded once more at the horn.

Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Story. Nelson just had little left for that final round. Going to be interesting to see the scores with how close the first three rounds were, but Story deserves to win this one.

WINNER: Story via split decision (47-48, 49-46, 50-44)

STAR RATING: (**) Solid, competitive, close fight, but nothing special. Story was a tough test for Nelson that the Icelandic fighter failed. It's a big win for Story to bring himself back to relevancy in the division.

-That's the show here this afternoon! Make sure to tune in tonight as Shawn Ennis brings you coverage of UFC Fight Night 54 from Halifax, Nova Scotia, on Fox Sports 1!