Eric “Red” Schafer Makes Middleweight Debut at XFO 41

UFC vet Eric “Red” Schafer gets a lot of press around this site. First, Michael Hatamoto covered the opening of his new gym and followed up with a post about his plans to fight again. Then, I wrote about visiting the gym, which had impressive instruction and a great vibe…and I kept getting tapped out by everyone I rolled with, including some dude with a sick inverted guard who does his conditioning at 6 in the morning. (What do those guys put in their drinking water, anyway?!) Most recently, we waxed rhapsodic about Schafer’s mad skillz in our top 10 list of fighters we’d love to see back in the Octagon. The list was received with much fanfare and aplomb. Men cheered. Women fainted. Children waved brightly colored flags. And everyone hit “like.”

Just when we thought the Red Frenzy had died down, it was announced that the submission whiz will be making his return to the cage at XFO 41: Outdoor War 7 in Island Lake, Illinois on September 3rd. This will be Schafer’s middleweight debut.

According to XFO’s Dan Lardy, wrestler Chris Albandia has verbally agreed to step in the cage as Schafer’s opponent. Albandia is an IFL veteran known both for his wrestling and his heavy hands. He is coming off of two 1st round submission losses, the most recent to Jeremy May by triangle choke in March 2010. Before that, he lost to Nathan Coy via arm triangle. Prior to the losses, Albandia defeated Dan Bolden by unanimous decision and won a fight with Jake Ambrose by submission due to strikes.

Chris Albandia

Schafer is coming off of two unanimous decision losses, the most recent to Jason Brilz in March 2010 and the other to Ryan Bader in October 2009. He hopes to use the fight as an opportunity to show how his skills have evolved. “Chris is a perfect fighter for me to test myself against because he is an accomplished wrestler,” Schafer said, pointing out that his toughest opponents, including his last two UFC losses, have always been to solid wrestlers. “I need to prove to myself that I have fixed that hole in my game. I cannot underestimate him, and I believe all my training to improve over the last year will show that I am a drastically more dangerous man,” he said.

Prior to Schafer’s two most recent losses, he was on a four-fight winning streak, with two 1st round TKO finishes against Antonio Mendes and William Hill and two submission victories against Houston Alexander, who he defeated by 1st round arm triangle, and Ryan Antle, who he defeated by guillotine in just 43 seconds into the first round.

Schafer has been very successful in XFO in the past. “XFO has always been the top show in the Midwest,” he says, “and the UFC talent that it has developed proves it. They have always treated me great and helped me reach the UFC the first time around, so there is no show I would rather fight in to unleash Red Schafer Version 2.0,” he said, adding that Island Lake, IL is not too far from Milwaukee–so he hopes to bring a bus load of family and friends to cheer him on.

Since we at MMA HQ have already used up all of our descriptive adjectives about Schafer in the aforementioned articles, we’ll let the video of a previous XFO match speak for itself. The following is Schafer’s first fight against William Hill, which took place at XFO 9 in January 2006. (An earlier match from XFO 6 in June 2005, in which Schafer won by triangle choke after his opponent actually passed out and then woke up, thinking he was still in the fight, is also available on YouTube.)

Fellow MMA geeks enthusiasts will enjoy this footage both for Schafer’s slick submissions and for the opportunity to view his evolution as a fighter, as his UFC bouts showcase his much tighter clinch game (and improved striking, which we’ve predicted will become even more evident in future fights.)

Word on the street is that Chris Albandia also has much-improved skills, but here’s a very old fight we dug up on the interwebz; his bout against Madice Alejandro which took place back in 2006.

Special thanks to XFO for not only allowing MMA HQ to post their footage, but uploading it especially for us.

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Brian Stann: Does He Have What It Takes to Be Middleweight Champion?

In the UFC's middleweight division (unofficially named "The Silva Division" since 2006), the search is on for someone who can step into the Octagon and end the Brazilian's championship reign. The search has taken us from Brazilian jiu-jitsu black-belts, to wrestlers, to power punchers and back again.

So far, no one has been able to fully navigate the web of Anderson "The Spider" Silva.

But 2011's hottest fighter at 185 may have a shot at the belt in the near future. That fighter is former U.S. Marine and WEC light heavyweight champion Brian Stann.

Since dropping from light heavyweight last August, Stann is a perfect 3-0. But what makes those wins so special, are the ways that he's won. He finished all three; two against submission specialists (Mike Massenzio and Jorge Santiago) and another against a known brawler (Chris Leben).

When it comes to finding opponents for Anderson Silva, you want a guy that's been tested in different areas. Stann has risen to the occasion so far.

Should he end up facing Silva in the future, it will be interesting to see how well Stann can fare on his feet. Stretching back to his WEC days, Stann has won seven fights by knockout, six of them coming in the first round.

His best characteristic out of the cage is by far his military background. He was awarded a Silver Star back in 2005 for his leadership in Iraq during Operation "Matador." The Silver Star is the third-highest Medal of Honor in the military. Along with his courage he's also a class act; it's hard not to cheer for Stann no matter who he's fighting. 

However, the one area of which he needs improvement is the ground game. Though he earned his first submission victory over Massenzio, it was the Phil Davis fight that exposed the hole is his wrestling and brought about his move to 185. 

Stann has been working with Roberto Traven to improve his ground game and his first big test will come at UFC 136 against Chael Sonnen. Sonnen's style is very similar to that of Phil Davis and he will certainly look to test the Marine on the ground. If Stann can get by Sonnen, he will be more than deserving of a title shot in my eyes.

So does he have what it takes to be middleweight champion? He's passed all of the litmus tests so far. He's rapidly becoming a fan favorite and the perfect face for the middleweight division.

But plenty have fallen before him. Last August, Sonnen was on his way to becoming the new champion, but a last minute submission loss and a load of legal troubles have put him a step back on the title ladder. 

MMA great Vitor Belfort looked to be the new face of the division last February, until Silva put a foot in it. And next month, Yushin Okami will get his shot to upend "The Spider" at UFC 134. 

Should he fail, Brian Stann will move one step closer in line. His heavy hands and improving ground game would make for an intriguing matchup.

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