UFC Heavyweight Bout: Travis Browne vs. Bigfoot Silva
Odds: ( -235 Browne /+185 Silva )
Betting Pick: Browne
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In the main event of the evening, undefeated Heavyweight slugger Travis “Hapa” Browne will face by far the toughest challenge of his young career in the form of one-time Strikeforce Heavyweight champion Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva. This is a great matchup on paper, because both of these guys are huge, heavy-handed punchers with excellent ground games to back up their striking. Silva is coming off an extremely one-sided loss to former UFC Heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez, but he has years of top-level experience and one of the most dangerous offensive skill sets in UFC’s Heavyweight division. If Browne wants to keep his undefeated record intact, he is going to have to find a way to weather the relentless, punishing offense Silva is known for and try to beat Silva at his own game.
Travis “Hapa” Browne is one of the most exciting Heavyweight prospects in the UFC. He has put together a very impressive undefeated record on the strength of his powerful striking and a very solid submission game, especially from top position. While this is his first fight against a top tier Heavyweight, he has handled his incremental steps up in competition very well. He showed against Cheick Kongo and Stefan Struve that he can handle fighting guys with dangerous striking of their own, and that is going to come in handy against the heavy-handed Silva. On the feet, I think the edge against Silva probably goes to Browne, so the most important thing for him is to make sure that if this fight does go to the ground, he is in top position. Silva is brutal with ground and pound from the top, and as good as Browne’s jiu-jitsu is, I don’t see him being able to work off his back effectively underneath “Bigfoot”.
Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva, the former Strikeforce Heavyweight champion, is an extremely dangerous fighter who can hurt opponents with strikes, submissions, and ground and pound. He is not the fastest guy in the world, either in terms of hand speed or on his feet, but he is extremely powerful and uses his size very well to neutralize his opponents. Although he is currently coming off two straight losses, he has more than enough offensive skills to threaten anyone he fights. Both of his last two losses, though, came by way of punches, so he is going to have to be wary of Browne’s power on the feet and try to work his way into top position, where I think his grappling is good enough to control position and punish Browne with hard ground and pound.
Stylistically, I think this matchup favors Browne. Browne has faster hands and more punching power, something Silva has trouble dealing with. “Bigfoot” does his best work when he can control opponents with superior physicality, but Browne is a huge guy who is not going to be bullied around. I think Silva is going to find taking Browne down very difficult, and will see his chin exploited in the striking game eventually. Browne by T/KO
Prediction: Travis “Hapa” Browne by third round T/KO.
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