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The UFC entourage stopped over in Stockholm, Sweden for what promised to be a night filled with high-octane fights.
Hometown hero Alexander Gustafsson took centre stage in the main event against Anthony Smith while fellow Light Heavyweights Jimi Manuwa and Aleksandar Rakic occupied the co-main event slot.
The card had a total of twelve fights with five of them being featured on the main card. Out of the twelve, only five of them ended in a decision. However, the night ended on an emotional note as Alexander Gustafsson announced his retirement from MMA.
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So without any further delay, let's get right into the results and highlights of the show:
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UFC Fight Night 153 Results - Prelims
Sergey Khandozhko def. Rostem Akman via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Lina Lansberg def. Tonya Evinger via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-26)
Leonardo Santos def. Stevie Ray via KO (punch) (2:17, Round 1)
Frank Camacho via Nick Hein via TKO (punches) (4:56, Round 2)
Bea Malecki def. Eduarda Santana via submission (rear-naked one) (1:59, Round 2)
Devin Clark def. Darko Stosic via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Joel Alvarez def. Danilo Belluardo via TKO (punches and elbows) (2:22, Round 2)
Volkan Oezdemir vs. Ilir Latifi (Cancelled due to a back injury sustained by Latiffi)
UFC Fight Night 153 Results - Main Card
#1. Daniel Teymur (6-3-0) vs. Sung Bin Jo (9-0-0) (Featherweight)
The undefeated Sung Bin Jo' first Octagon outing didn't end up being memorable after all. Swedish fighter Daniel Teymur put on a dominating performance in front of his countrymates to notch up a unanimous decision victory against the 'Korean Falcon'.
Teymur was the aggressor all throughout the fight wihile Bin Jo played the counter-attacking game. Bin Jo's long spells of inactivity on the feet may have cost him the fight as Teymur connected with more shots and controlled the fight in his favour.
Teymur's takedown defense was on point as he reversed many of Jo's attempts into a dominant position for himself. At the end of the day, Bin Jo faced some real competition at the biggest stage of them all and failed to deliver. Welcome to the big lagues, Jo.
Result: Daniel Teymur def. Sung Bin Jo via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
#2. Damir Hadžović (13-4-0) vs. Christos Giagos (16-7-0) (Lightweight)
Bosnian-born Danish fighter Damir Hadžović's two-fight win streak came to an end at the hands of the American Christos Giagos, who put on a highly professional display in his unanimous decision victory.
Giagos took the first round courtesy of a takedown and was the more busy fighter as he landed shots and kept working for an opening from the guard.
Giagos brought Damir down to the mat in each round and notched up the goods on the scorecard. Giagos, as expected, clocked in 141 total strikes out of which 67 of them landed. Out of the 13 takedown attempts, Giagos successfully completed a mind-boggling six. The fight, however, was won in the significant strikes department as Giagos had 47 in comparison to Damir's 24.
Damir, though, had his moments as well as he landed a takedown along with 87 strikes in total. Giagos had a better gameplan on the night and executed it with the utmost focus.
Result: Christos Giagos def. Damir Hadžović vi unanimous decision (29-27, 29-27, 29-28)
#3. Makwan Amirkhani (14-3-0) vs Chris Fishgold (18-2-1) (Featherweight)
The 8-second knockout man, Makwan Amirkhani continued his good momentum by handing Chris Fishgold his first submission loss. Fishgold spoke a lot of trash heading into the fight as he mentioned his desire to hurt 'p***k' Amirkhani.
The English fighter had to eat his words up as Amirkhani forced him to tap out to a smooth Anaconda Choke in the second round at UFC Fight Night 153.
The closing stages of the fight saw Amirkhani shoot for a takedown. Fishgold defended with the standing guillotine but conceded his position and found himself in half guard.
Amirkhani pounced on the opportunity to lock in the Anaconda Choke after Fishgold moved his knees. Amirkhani improvised a bit with a rotation to tighten the hold and as a result, get a very impressive submission finish.
Result: Makwan Amirkhani def. Chris Fishgold via submission (Anaconda Choke) (4:25, Round 2)
#4. Jimi Manuwa (17-5-0) vs. Aleksandar Rakic (11-1-0) (Light Heavyweight)
42 seconds was all it took for Aleksandar Rakic to shut the dangerous Jimi Manuwa down. It was your quintessential knockout.
The fight began with both men shooting respective leg kicks. Rakic took a chance and went for a 2-1 head kick that rocked Manuwa, who got flattened as a result of the impact. The referee stepped in to avoid Manuwa from taking further damage.
Rakic brought up his fourth UFC victory and the eleventh consecutive win as a result of the clean knockout. While Rakic is destined for great things going forward, the future looks bleak for Manuwa, who suffered his fourth straight loss.
Even going back to the drawing board doesn't seem to be paying dividends for the 'Poster Boy', who needs to get a few wins under his belt to save his free-falling UFC career.
Result: Aleksandar Rakic def. Jimi Manuwa via KO (head kick) (0:42, Round 1)
#5.Alexander Gustafsson (18-5-0) vs. Anthony Smith (31-14-0) (Light Heavyweight)
The main event was billed to be a highly engaging contest between two valiant former Light Heavyweight title contenders.
The Lion Heart showed more vigour and inventiveness, however, as he managed to finish The Mauler with a rear naked choke.
Gustafsson was leading on the scorecards until the finish happened as the Swedish stand-up specialist had 73 total strikes. Smith got in 51 total landed strikes and may have narrowly edged past Gustafsson in the first two rounds. Gustafsson took the third round before falling victim to an RNC.
Gustafsson attempted a takedown in the fourth round but instead was taken down to the mat in the process. Smith landed some strikes and forced Gustafsson to shrivel.
Smith was clinical as soon as he sensed an opening as he locked in the RNC to get a massive win.
Result: Alexander Gustafsson def. Anthony Smith via submission (Read naked choke) (2:38, Round 4)
In an unexpected turn of events, Gustafsson drew curtains on his impressive MMA career as he removed his gloves, placed them on the mat and said, "What can I say? The show is over, guys.”
An unforgettable show indeed.
The Mauler may not have won the big one in the UFC but he will go down as one of the most likeable fighters to have ever graced the Octagon. Without a doubt, Gus will go down as one of the best fighters to have never won the world title. We wish him all the very best for all his future endeavours.
