Dennis Siver (UFC on Fuel TV screen capture)
Siver misses weight on first attempt
All but one of the fighters on the UFC’s first visit to Sweden were on weight Friday for their Saturday bouts in Stockholm.
UFC on Fuel TV: Gustafsson vs. Silva takes place at the Ericsson Globe Arena, where Friday’s official weigh-in event took place. The six-fight main card will air live on the Fuel TV cable network at 3 p.m. Eastern. Six fights on the preliminary card will stream live on the UFC’s Facebook fan page at 12:30 p.m.
Only Dennis Siver failed to make weight on his first attempt, coming in at 147 pounds even after removing his trunks. Siver, who is making his featherweight debut after fighting at lightweight for the entirety of his UFC career, was given two hours to cut to a maximum of 146, the featherweight limit. His opponent, Diego Nunes, weighed in at 146.
Main event light heavyweights Alexander Gustafsson and Thiago Silva each were on target at 205 pounds. Gustafsson is a native of Sweden headlining the first UFC event in the country.
“It’s awesome to be here,” Gustafsson told emcee Mike Goldberg after his face off with Silva. “It’s a dream come true fighting here in my home town for my countrymen. It’s the most important fight in my career.”
Silva returns for the first time since a UFC 125 win over Brandon Vera that was overturned to a no contest after Silva tested positive for steroids. He was suspended for a year by the Nevada State Athletic Commission and is a roughly 2-to-1 underdog in his first fight back.
“I’m so happy,” Silva said. “I want to thank the UFC for the opportunity. I’m here to fight hard. I always do. Everybody knows my style. I’m going to move forward – always.”
Saturday’s card also will feature a co-main event between middleweights Brian Stann and Alessio Sakara. Sakara fights for the first time in more than a year after dealing with injury setbacks. Stann returns for the first time since a UFC 136 loss to Chael Sonnen last October.
The card features the UFC debut of several fighters, as well as several fighters from Sweden. Besam Yousef, Reza Madadi, Magnus Cedenblad, Papy Abedi and, of course, Gustafsson all hail from Sweden. Simeon Thoresen, Yousef, Madadi, Izquierdo, Cedenblad, Tom DeBlass and Bahadurzada all are making their UFC debuts. While all the fighters from Sweden got huge ovations from the crowd at the Globe Arena, the loudest was reserved for main-eventer Gustafsson.
The complete weigh-in results are below:
Main card
Alexander Gustafsson (205) vs. Thiago Silva (205)
Brian Stann (186) vs. Alessio Sakara (186)
Paulo Thiago (170) vs. Siyar Bahadurzada (170)
Dennis Siver (147)* vs. Diego Nunes (146)
DaMarques Johnson (171) vs. John Maguire (170)
Brad Pickett (136) vs. Damacio Page (135)
Preliminary Card
Papy Abedi (171) vs. James Head (170)
Cyrille Diabate (206) vs. Tom DeBlass (205)
Francis Carmont (186) vs. Magnus Cedenblad (185)
Reza Madadi (155) vs. Yoislandy Izquierdo (155)
Simeon Thoresen (170) vs. Besam Yousef (170)
Jason Young (145) vs. Eric Wisely (145)
* Siver, making his featherweight debut, was given two hours to drop to the featherweight limit of 146 pounds