UFC on FUEL TV 5 Results: Three Stars

Since we at Fight Cove operate out of the Great White North, what better way to honor one of Canada’s great pastimes (Hockey) than to use the famous “three stars” system for UFC events?

If you are unfamiliar with the system, this is how it works. An independent, non-bias viewer (in this case, yours truly) selects the three top performers from the event to name as the “three stars”. If you couldn’t figure it out on your own, the first star is the most impressive performer from the event, the second star is the second most impressive, and so on and so forth.

The “three stars” are judged off the effectiveness and overall impact of their performance. Still following? Good, because here are the “three stars” from UFC on FUEL TV 5: Struve vs. Miocic.

Third Star – Brad Pickett
Brad Pickett was one of five British fighters on the UFC on FUEL TV 5 fight card to have his hand raised when he defeated Yves Jabouin by first-round knockout. Even though he hadn’t earned a knockout since _ prior to the Jabouin fight, Pickett showed why he holds the nickname “One Punch” when he floored his opponent with an uppercut that led to the stoppage. The 34-year-old gave Jabouin his first loss in the bantamweight division and earned a $40,000 “Knockout of the Night” bonus for his efforts.

Pickett has now won back-to-back fights against strong opposition and is proving to be one of the most exciting fighters in the division, as he has won post-fight bonuses in all three of his octagon appearances.

Second Star – Stefan Struve
Stefan “Skyscraper” Struve is really starting to come into his own as a mixed martial arts fighter and his win over Stipe Miocic at UFC on FUEL TV 5 proved why. “Skyscraper” defeated Stipe Moicic by second-round TKO in the main event from Nottingham in an exhilarating contest that was awarded ‘Fight of the Night’. Struve has won four fights in a row by either knockout or submission and is 9-3 overall in his UFC career.

UFC president Dana White said the winner of Struve-Miocic would be “the No. 5 or 6 guy in the (heavyweight) division’, which means the Dutch fighter is now in a good position to face off with one of the top contenders in his weight class. Struve mentioned a fight with Fabricio Werdum next, a match up that makes sense for a lot of reasons. Regardless, Struve shined in England in his first UFC main event and at 24-years of age is continuing to flourish with every bout.

First Star – Matt Wiman
In a night full of thrilling finishes, Matt Wiman’s armbar of Paul Sass may have been the best. No one expected Wiman to go after Sass on the ground with as much ferocity as he did. The strategy of “Handsome” paid off though as he allowed his opponent to get comfortable in the top position before securing a surprising armbar that forced Sass to tap out.

Wiman was emotional in the cage after his win and it was obviously the win meant a lot to him. The 29-year-old has put on consistently solid performances in his 13-fight teneur with the UFC dating back to 200_ and is proving to be one of the most exciting fighters in the division. Wiman earned ‘Submission of the Night’ at UFC on FUEL TV 5 and after winning five of his last six fights is in position to fight a fighter on the tail-end of the top-10 in the lightweight division.

Mike Bohn, founder and lead writer of FightCove.com, wrote this article. You can follow Mike on Twitter at @MikeBohnMMA. Also, follow @FightCove on Twitter and “Like” Fight Cove on Facebook.