Beatdown of the Year 2011: Brian Stann’s Vulgar Display of Power

UFC 125: Resolution
January 1, 2011
Las Vegas, Nevada
MGM Grand Garden Arena

Referee Josh Rosenthal stopped The All American from beating the piss out of his opponent Chris Leben at the 3:37 marker of the very 1st Round. He probably could’ve done it a bit earlier. Stann may have KO’ed Leben once, or he may have three times. Either way, New Years Day 2011 was the official arrival of a new player in the UFC Middleweight Division. Stann went on to KO former Sengoku Champion Jorge Santiago to make it three finishes in a row in his new weight class in the Spring. This scored the former WEC Light Heavyweight Champion a date with Chael Sonnen to close out the year in October.

It took a gangster from the mean streets of West Linn, Oregon to derail Captain America. Sonnen’s superior wrestling proved to be a bit much for Stann, just like Phil Davis was back in 2010, a defeat that forced him to make that drop to 185. Despite his achilles’ heel I wouldn’t be surprised if Stann comes out of the gate in 2012 with the same ferocity he did on January 1st, 2011. This guy is still a monster threat for anyone who finds himself locked inside of a cage with him in Vegas or any other town. Oh yeah, what was Leben’s excuse for getting dropped three times in one fight? : “I ate a bunch of candy, dude. I’m not lying,”

Honorable Mention: UFC 131: Junior dos Santos vs. Shane Carwin