(The leg injury didn’t help, but did you really think Browne’s two tiny hand tattoos stood a chance against Silva big foot ink?)
Well, that was anticlimactic. In many ways, the main event of UFC on FX 5 encapsulated the rest of the card – fun at times but, in some part due to forces beyond its control, not something that lived up to its potential. Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva was able to stop a game Travis Browne after the latter suffered a debilitating leg injury in the first round.
Browne found success with his offense when the round began, but somewhere over the course of the fight, his hamstring popped. Ouch.
Even typing that felt painful. And evidently, it was just as painful and incapacitating as you would think it is. Browne almost collapsed simply from throwing a punch at one point. Eventually,Bigfoot took advantage by rushing in, cornering Browne against the fence and delivering a mammoth right hand to Browne’s jaw.
The follow up shots sealed Silva’s victory, and most likely saved his job. For Browne and MMA fans alike, however, this was a difficult loss to swallow.
In the co-main event, Jake Ellenberger took a unanimous decision over the returning Jay Hieron in what looked like a glorified sparring session. Neither fighter appeared comfortable coming forward, but Ellenberger was able to occasionally capitalize on mistakes by Hieron.
The most significant moment of the fight came in the second round, when Ellenberger managed to land a take down and damaged Hieron with short elbows on the ground. Beyond this, however, virtually nothing of significance was landed by either party.
That said, although Ellenberger didn’t manage to distinguish himself in victory. A win is a win.
He now will attempt to get himself back into position as a contender for the welterweight crown. As for Hieron, this probably wasn’t the homecoming he anticipated. Hopefully he’ll get another chance to prove he belongs in the UFC.
The flyweight tilt between John Dodson and Jussier Formiga was probably the most significant bout of the night. It was set to determine the number one contender to the new champion, Demetrious Johnson.
After an uneventful first round, Dodson was able to land two serious left hands, each of which knocked Formiga down. The second time, Dodson didn’t allow him to get back up, firing off a barrage of ground and pound and sealing his title shot.
Michael Johnson earned KO of the Night after surviving the two runners up from Danny Castillo in the first round. However, in the second, Johnson connected with a beautiful counter left hook that turned Castillo’s lights out.Johnson followed with vicious shots on the ground, but these were academic.
Josh Neer was upset by Justin Edwards, as he was choked unconscious within a minute. Edwards’ guillotine earned him Submission of the Night. And from the Fuel undercard, Diego Nunes’ spirited victory over Bart Palaszewski picked up Fight of the Night.
Finally, Yves Edwards and Jeremy Stephens… um… yeah, that didn’t happen. Oops.
Main Card Results
Antonio Silva def. Travis Browne via TKO at 3:27 of Round 1
Jake Ellenberger def. Jay Hieron via UD (29-28 x 3)
John Dodson def. Jussier Formiga via TKO at 4:35 of Round 2
Justin Edwards def. Josh Neer via SUB at 0:45 of Round 1
Michael Johnson def. Danny Castillo via KO at 1:06 of Round 2
Prelim Results
Mike Pierce def. Aaron Simpson via KO at 0:29 of Round 2
Marcus LeVesseur def. Carlo Prater via SD (29-28 x 2, 28-29)
Jacob Volkman def. Shane Roller via SUB at 2:38 of Round 1
Diego Nunes def. Bart Palaszewski via UD (30-27 x 2, 29-28)
Darren Uyenoyama def. Phil Harris via SUB at 3:38 of Round 2