LOS ANGELES, CA – UFC® ON FUEL TV 8 takes place at the Saitama Super Arena in Japan, live, on Saturday, Mar. 2 (9:00 PM ET) highlighted by the legendary “The Axe Murderer” Wanderlei Silva against top contender “All American” Brian Stann.
Silva returns to fight in Japan for the first time since 2006 (34-12-1, 1NC), against Stann (12-5, 6-4 UFC). The Silva vs. Stann main event is preceded by five exciting matchups, all televised on FUEL TV. The co-main event is a heavyweight clash between ninth-ranked and seven-foot tall Stefan “Skyscraper” Struve (29-5, 9-3 UFC), who’s coming off a second-round knockout of Stipe Miocic at UFC® ON FUEL TV 5 and knockout artist Mark “Super Samoan” Hunt (3-1 UFC, 8-7), and his three-fight win streak.
An exciting lightweight battle ensues between “The Fireball Kid” Takanori Gomi (34-8, 1NC) taking on Diego “The Dream” Sanchez (25-5), who was awarded Fight of the Night honors in his back-and-forth battle with Jake Ellenberger at UFC® ON FUEL TV 1. Fourth-ranked middleweight Yushin “Thunder” Okami (29-7) faces eighth-ranked Hector “Lightning” Lombard (32-3-1, 1NC) in an epic showdown. Japan’s Mizuto Hirota (14-5-1) is looking forward to representing his home country against Rani Yahya (17-7). Siyar Bahadurzada (21-4-1), who is on a seven-fight win streak, faces Dong Hyun Kim (16-2-1, 1 NC) in a welterweight bout.
UFC announcers Jon Anik and Kenny Florian call all bouts live from Japan on FUEL TV. Host Jay Glazer, UFC light heavyweight contender Chael Sonnen and UFC middleweight vet Michael Bisping offer analysis from FUEL TV’s Los Angeles studios. Veteran British MMA Journalist Gareth A. Davies interviews fighters backstage.
Coverage of UFC® ON FUEL TV 8: SILVA VS. STANN begins Tuesday, Feb. 26 (10:00 PM ET) with UFC TONIGHT, the official news and information show of the UFC, and features in-depth breakdowns of the main fights with hosts Kenny Florian and Chael Sonnen. The evening wraps with UFC ULTIMATE INSIDER (10:30 PM ET), a 30-minute program going behind-the-scenes of the UFC, with insightful profiles of Stann and Bahadurzada.
On Friday, Mar. 1 (11:00 PM ET), FUEL TV carries the weigh-in LIVE from Tokyo. The program is hosted by Karyn Bryant, with Sonnen and Bisping adding analysis, and Davies interviewing fighters on-site.
The UFC PRELIMS begin Saturday, Mar. 2 (7:50 PM ET) and FUEL TV and FOXSports.com webcast the five early bouts. http://www.fuel.tv/ufc/events/silva-vs-stann
Immediately following UFC® ON FUEL TV 8: SILVA VS. STANN on Saturday, Mar. 2 (1:00 AM ET), the UFC POSTFIGHT SHOW airs on FUEL TV featuring host Glazer and analysts Sonnen and Bisping, breaking down the biggest and best moments of the evening’s fights. Davies provides interviews backstage live from the Saitama Super Arena. FUEL TV’s FAN CAMeo will be back for a second time, allowing viewers to record video responses from their mobile phone, table or laptop, upload the clip, and have it used within minutes on the live show. Fans can upload their videos here: http://www.fuel.tv/fancameo
In addition to streaming the prelims, FOX Sports Media Group’s digital arm, FOXSports.com, produces feature stories previewing the fight, and on Fight Day offers live blogs of the main card fights and offers a post-fight recap. FSMG’s Spanish language network FOX Deportes re-airs UFC® ON FUEL TV 8’s six fights on Sunday, March 3 (6:00 PM ET).
