Since Dana White constantly craves action-packed fights, the longtime UFC president should feel like he just received an entertainment fix from watching UFC Fight Night 26 on Saturday at the TD Garden in Boston.
White watched several captivating decisions, four knockouts and three submissions unfold in his hometown of Boston in the inaugural event on the Fox Sports 1 network.
Of the 13 bouts on the card, several merited considerations for “Fight of the Night” bonuses, including Chael Sonnen‘s shocking submission win over Mauricio “Shogun” Rua in the night’s main event and Michael McDonald’s triangle choke win over Brad Pickett on the preliminary card.
However, no fight epitomized the phrase show-stopper quite like the night’s co-main event between Travis Browne and Alistair Overeem.
Somehow, in the midst of a brutal first-round beating being handed out by “The Demolition Man,” Browne managed to defend himself and occasionally answer back with a counterstrike.
Overeem landed a flush knee on Browne’s breadbasket from the clinch and dropped the Jackson’s MMA product along the fence.
The Demolition man hammered away with punches at the dazed Browne as he attempted to regain his composure on all fours. Browne absorbed several thunderous strikes, including knees and elbows from Overeem, until referee Mario Yamasaki warned the Hawaiian that he was about to stop the fight.
Browne listened to Yamasaki‘s commands and miraculously broke free from Overeem and the early beating he was taking.
Browne stuffed an Overeem takedown attempt with 2:15 to go in the first round before grazing the Dutchman with a head kick at the 1:27 mark.
With roughly a minute to go, “Hapa” landed a left front kick to Overeem’s body followed by a right front kick to The Demolition Man’s face.
Then, as Overeem crept forward with his hands at his chest, Browne unleashed a left front kick that landed flush on his chin.
Overeem crashed to the canvas and Browne capitalized on his dire state, landing a pair of fight-ending hammerfists to solidify the upset win.
After withstanding an unprecedented thrashing from the venomous Overeem, Hapa regained his footing and landed a knockout that was reminiscent of Anderson Silva’s over Vitor Belfort at UFC 126.
Watching Sonnen cinch up just his second submission win in his UFC career marked a memorable moment. It was also satisfying to watch the UFC‘s third-ranked bantamweight, McDonald, take out the division’s fifth-ranked fighter, Pickett, with an airtight triangle choke. But witnessing Browne’s resilience and ultimate release of aggression on a savage like Overeem was downright astounding.
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