The first main event in Fox Sports 1 history saw Chael Sonnen destroy Mauricio “Shogun” Rua in the first round, but Sonnen‘s terrific performance was not the only dominant or surprising showing on the night.
UFC Fight Night 26 from Boston was peppered with outstanding matchups up and down the card. Some of the results were shocking, other results shook out about as expected, with the favorites putting up strong performances.
For example, the career trajectory of Urijah Faber (also known as “The California Kid”) keeps trending upward as he continued his expected climb to the bantamweight title with his victory over Iuri Alcantara.
But for every win there was an equally disappointing loss, such as Rua‘s steady decline. The UFC has a way of perfectly balancing itself out like that.
Suffice it to say, UFC on Fox Sports 1 has a very bright future. Take these shocking outcomes from Fight Night 26 as a precursor to what’s to come in the future of the UFC.
Matt Brown Downs Mike Pyle in 29 Seconds
Brown is one of the UFC’s hottest fighters at the moment, and he rode a five-match winning streak into his showdown with Mike Pyle.
Just 29 seconds later, he emerged from the cage with that streak extended to six.
Brown recorded the Knockout of the Night by delivering a big knee followed by a series of right-handed strikes, which forced the referee to intervene.
Pyle is not exactly the slouch Brown made him out to be. He too entered the matchup with a winning streak, albeit of only four.
Brown was not satisfied with simply shocking the world via his big victory. According to Dana Becker of Fightline.com, he then elected to take the microphone and personally call out Georges St-Pierre: “Mike Pyle is good enough to be champion; he is better than GSP, I guarantee that,” Brown said. “Where you at Georges? Six in a row.”
The challenge has been set, although time will tell if Brown’s name is big enough to land GSP.
Travis Browne Stuns Alistair Overeem in First Round
Not many gave the big Hawaiian a chance, but Travis Browne turned one kick into a message heard around the world on Saturday.
Alistair Overeem dominated the first half of the round, even knocking Browne to the mat and delivering some vicious knee strikes. Things were going in his favor as most anticipated.
Browne came back and delivered a perfect left kick that connected with Overeem’s jaw, and just like that, the match was over after the referee had to pull Browne off Overeem at 4:08 of the first round.
That’s two vicious knockouts in a row suffered by Overeem, the other coming back in February at the hands of Antonio Silva.
Browne now has a stellar record of 15-1-1 and has a serious case to be at the top of the list when it comes to title contenders.
Chael Sonnen Makes Shogun Rua Tap Out
For a hotly anticipated matchup used to help kick off a network, this one sure ended quickly.
Sonnen entered the match in dire need of a victory after two title-match losses in a row at two different weight classes. Call it desperation, but Sonnen was all offense from the beginning of the match.
That offense paid off in a big way.
Sonnen effortlessly took down Rua right away and kept him on the mat for most of the first round. Rua regained his footing after some solid defense, but Sonnen acted as the aggressor once more and applied a guillotine hold quickly.
Shogun tapped out at 4:47 of the first round.
“The American Gangster” now sits rejuvenated at 28-13-1 while Rua is left picking up the pieces having lost three of his last four. With the win, Sonnen now has opportunities available at both lightweight and middleweight.
It appears he is now on a crash course with Wanderlei Silva, especially after calling him out after beating Rua, according to Fightline.com’s Dana Becker: “Right here, on the UFC’s new home, FOX Sports 1,” Sonnen said. “Wanderlei Silva, 6-feet tall, 205 pounds; boy, until I met you, I didn’t know they could stack crap that high.”
Sonnen shocked us with his easy handling of Rua, so don’t be surprised if he ends up in a bout with Silva next.
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