In case you missed the incredible (and somewhat unsettling) three-round smash-up between Matt Brown and Erick Silva at UFC Fight Night 40 on Saturday night, watch this quick recap of the action. Two quick takeaways: 1) Brown might be the toughest sumbitch in UFC history. 2) At the 0:47 mark, you will see the closest that MMA has ever come to a double-KO via body shots. I’m glad the fight turned out with a triumphant victory for the very deserving Immortal, but damn, that would have been awesome.
After the jump: Matt Brown’s post-fight interview, and highlights from Costa Philippou and Lorenz Larkin’s one-round slugfest.
In case you missed the incredible (and somewhat unsettling) three-round smash-up between Matt Brown and Erick Silva at UFC Fight Night 40 on Saturday night, watch this quick recap of the action. Two quick takeaways: 1) Brown might be the toughest sumbitch in UFC history. 2) At the 0:47 mark, you will see the closest that MMA has ever come to a double-KO via body shots. I’m glad the fight turned out with a triumphant victory for the very deserving Immortal, but damn, that would have been awesome.
After the jump: Matt Brown’s post-fight interview, and highlights from Costa Philippou and Lorenz Larkin’s one-round slugfest.
Watching MMA comes at a cost. Not $60 for a PPV. Not $10 every month for Fight Pass. Not even the hours you spend watching low-level fighters on prelims learn their craft so you can watch the main card. No, being a fan of this sport comes at a human cost. Real people are putting their permanent health on the line for…money? A pittance? For our entertainment? For the tired notion of glory?
Each fighter has their own motivation for stepping into the cage, but most fans generally watch MMA for the entertainment value; if something about MMA didn’t entertain or excite them, they wouldn’t watch.
And how can MMA fans be blamed? The kernel of Dana White‘s blowhard persuasions about fighting being “in our blood” is true. The highest level of MMA transcends “sport” as we’re used to it. There are no overweight outfielders scratching their balls between innings. There are no fines for wearing your socks the wrong height or for excessive celebration. MMA, at its best, is a phantasmagoric display of violence juxtaposed with art. It’s raw. It’s visceral. It’s a grotesque, screeching cacophony of carnage that unfolds into a single, unparalleled and strangely soothing melody. There is nothing on earth like (good) MMA. Nothing.
Watching MMA comes at a cost. Not $60 for a PPV. Not $10 every month for Fight Pass. Not even the hours you spend watching low-level fighters on prelims learn their craft so you can watch the main card. No, being a fan of this sport comes at a human cost. Real people are putting their permanent health on the line for…money? A pittance? For our entertainment? For the tired notion of glory?
Each fighter has their own motivation for stepping into the cage, but most fans generally watch MMA for the entertainment value; if something about MMA didn’t entertain or excite them, they wouldn’t watch.
And how can MMA fans be blamed? The kernel of Dana White‘s blowhard persuasions about fighting being “in our blood” is true. The highest level of MMA transcends “sport” as we’re used to it. There are no overweight outfielders scratching their balls between innings. There are no fines for wearing your socks the wrong height or for excessive celebration. MMA, at its best, is a phantasmagoric display of violence juxtaposed with art. It’s raw. It’s visceral. It’s a grotesque, screeching cacophony of carnage that unfolds into a single, unparalleled and strangely soothing melody. There is nothing on earth like (good) MMA. Nothing.
But Sunday mornings are always sober; the high has worn off. The consequences of combat are the violence junkie’s hangover. The realities of what transpired in the cage are stark and unflinching.
That’s Erick Silva immediately after the fight was stopped. He’s beaten, bloody, and broken to the point where he was removed on a stretcher. We cheered while Matt Brown was turning Silva into a concussed, sanguine mass. The process enthralled us, and I’m just as guilty. I was among the thousands screaming “HOLY SHIT” every time Silva managed to weather one of Brown’s combinations. But we shouldn’t feel guilty for enjoying it. After all, Erick Silva walked away with “a clean bill of health.” So we can go back to writing “JUST BLEED” on our chests remorse-free, right?
There’s no such thing as a clean bill of health in MMA, especially after a fight like that. Erick Silva took a beating, but he was OK or at least as OK as a person can be under the circumstances. But fighters aren’t always OK afterwards. MMA is dangerous. MMA can be lethal. It’s easy for us to shrug off MMA’s darkest days. “The fights were either unsanctioned or shouldn’t have happened to begin with; Something like this could never happen in the UFC,” we tell ourselves, always finding an excuse that lets us believe MMA is safe and carries no grave risks. But fighters don’t spring back to health once the TV is turned off. One day a fighter in a big organization might not be OK afterwards. How will we justify watching this sport then?
In an age when athletes are shooting themselves in the chest to preserve their battered brains for study, we have to ask ourselves what combat sports (and even contact sports in general) are worth. If Brown vs. Silva was a reminder as to why we watch this sport, perhaps it should also serve as a reminder as to why we shouldn’t.
(Matt Brown about to do the Captain Morgan pose on Erick Silva. / Photo via Getty)
Matt. F*cking. Brown.
No, really. Matt Brown. If you didn’t see his main-event fight against Erick Silva at UFC Fight Night 40, you have to. You owe it to yourself. Our words can’t really do it justice suffice it to say it was pure violence. The first round saw Silva nearly score a liver-shot KO over Brown and then submit him with a rear naked choke. But after Brown escaped the choke, he managed to reverse his fortunes. He landed some combinations that would put down a horse, but somehow Silva survived the beating throughout the latter half of the first round and the entirety of the second. Finally, in the third frame, Silva succumbed to the force of nature that was Brown. This fight was a breath of fresh, bloody air when MMA needed one.
In the co-main event, Constantinos Philippou defeated Lorenz Larkin via knockout, but not just any kind of knockout. It was a faceplant KO. Here’s the GIF. The end result of the fight doesn’t convey how competitive it was though. Both fighters had one another in danger until Larkin’s lights went off.
After the jump: Something worse than Beatus the Robot and the fight card’s complete results.
(Matt Brown about to do the Captain Morgan pose on Erick Silva. / Photo via Getty)
Matt. F*cking. Brown.
No, really. Matt Brown. If you didn’t see his main-event fight against Erick Silva at UFC Fight Night 40, you have to. You owe it to yourself. Our words can’t really do it justice suffice it to say it was pure violence. The first round saw Silva nearly score a liver-shot KO over Brown and then submit him with a rear naked choke. But after Brown escaped the choke, he managed to reverse his fortunes. He landed some combinations that would put down a horse, but somehow Silva survived the beating throughout the latter half of the first round and the entirety of the second. Finally, in the third frame, Silva succumbed to the force of nature that was Brown. This fight was a breath of fresh, bloody air when MMA needed one.
In the co-main event, Constantinos Philippou defeated Lorenz Larkin via knockout, but not just any kind of knockout. It was a faceplant KO. Here’s the GIF. The end result of the fight doesn’t convey how competitive it was though. Both fighters had one another in danger until Larkin’s lights went off.
Also of note: Daron Cruickshank knocked out Erik Koch with a sweet head kick (and then landed like 200 more strikes because the ref stopped the fight too late).
Another thing: There was a guy in a Chuck Liddell suit, kinda like one of those weird furry costumes…except it was Chuck Liddell. No joke.
If you’d like a more in-depth recap, read our extensively detailed live-blog. If not, see the complete results below.
MAIN CARD RESULTS
– Matt Brown def. Erick Silva via TKO (punches), 2:11 of round 3
– Constantinos Philippou def. Lorenz Larkin via KO (punch), 3:47 of round 1
– Daron Cruickshank def. Erik Koch via TKO (head kick and punches), 3:21 of round 1
– Neil Magny def. Tim Means via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
– Soa Palelei def. Ruan Potts via KO (punch), 2:20 of round 1
– Chris Cariaso def. Louis Smolka via unanimous decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
PRELIMINARY CARD RESULTS
– Ed Herman def. Rafael Natal via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
– Kyoji Horiguchi def. Darrell Montague via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
– Zak Cummings def. Yan Cabral via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
– Johnny Eduardo def. Eddie Wineland via TKO (punches), 4:37 of round 1
– Nik Lentz def. Manny Gamburyan via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
– Justin Salas def. Ben Wall via KO (punches), 2:41 of round 1
– Albert Tumenov def. Anthony Lapsley via KO (punch), 3:56 of round 1
In this installment of “Liveblogging the Fights You Actually Care About,” CP weekend editor Matt Saccaro will be giving you live results for the Matt Brown vs. Erick Silva main event, as well as Erik Koch vs. Daron Cruickshank — barnburner alert! — and whatever else he feels like covering. Plus, quick results from the rest of the event, and our usual analysis of video game commercials and frozen pizza.
The FOX Sports 1 main card begins at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT, and we’ll start throwing down results after the jump shortly thereafter. Refresh the page every few minutes for all the latest.
In this installment of “Liveblogging the Fights You Actually Care About,” CP weekend editor and social media kosmonaut Matt Saccaro will be giving you live results for the Matt Brown vs. Erick Silva main event, as well as Erik Koch vs. Daron Cruickshank — barnburner alert! — and whatever else he feels like covering. Plus, quick results from the rest of the event, and our usual analysis of video game commercials and frozen pizza.
The FOX Sports 1 main card begins at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT, and we’ll start throwing down results after the jump shortly thereafter. Refresh the page every few minutes for all the latest.
MAIN CARD RESULTS
– Matt Brown def. Erick Silva via TKO (punches), 2:11 of round 3
– Constantinos Philippou def. Lorenz Larkin via KO (punch), 3:47 of round 1
– Daron Cruickshank def. Erik Koch via TKO (head kick and punches), 3:21 of round 1
– Neil Magny def. Tim Means via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
– Soa Palelei def. Ruan Potts via KO (punch), 2:20 of round 1
– Chris Cariaso def. Louis Smolka via unanimous decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
PRELIMINARY CARD RESULTS
– Ed Herman def. Rafael Natal via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
– Kyoji Horiguchi def. Darrell Montague via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
– Zak Cummings def. Yan Cabral via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
– Johnny Eduardo def. Eddie Wineland via TKO (punches), 4:37 of round 1
– Nik Lentz def. Manny Gamburyan via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
– Justin Salas def. Ben Wall via KO (punches), 2:41 of round 1
– Albert Tumenov def. Anthony Lapsley via KO (punch), 3:56 of round 1
Daron Cruickshank vs. Erik Koch
Round 1: Koch comes in with a jab and Cruickshank counters with a right hand. Cruickshank misses a head kick. Koch eats an overhand right after attempting a leg kick. Koch backs Cruickshank against the cage with a flurry, and Cruickshank stops Koch’s aggressiveness with a side kick. Cruickshank chases Koch and lands a body kick after some sloppy punches. Not loads of contact made on anyone’s punches, to be honest. The two exchange leg kicks. Koch lands a stiff jab that sends Cruickshank’s head back. Koch hits a great leg kick on Cruickshank’s lead leg. Cruickshank lands a nasty body kick shortly after, but then Koch lands one of his own. Cruickshank lands a head kick that Koch blocks but then lands another INSANE head kick that floors Koch. He pours on the ground and pound while Koch’s head bounces off the mat (where the fuck is the ref?) before the fight is finally stopped after like 200 punches too many.
Lorenz Larkin vs. Constantinos Philippou
Round 1: Both fighters paw jabs. Larkin hits a front kick then wobbles Philippou with a hook. Philippou returns the favor. Larkin lands a leg kick and misses a left hand. Philippou comes forwards and presses Larkin against the cage. He lands some knees to Larkin’s thighs and does about a million foot stomps. They separate. Philippou hits two jabs, but then Larkin nails him with a crisp combination. Larkin lands a head kick but Philippou shrugs it off. Philippou lands a right hand and then another as Larkin tries a leg kick. These wobbled him, but then Larkin hurts Philippou with a counter hook. It was basically a back-and-forth striking scuffle. Philippou has Larkin against the cage, but Larkin separates and lands a big elbow. Costas lands a killer right hand and floors Larkin. He’s out cold. This fight is over.
Matt Brown vs. Erick Silva
Round 1: They get in each other’s faced at the stare down. They were literally nose to nose. Silva goes for an oblique kick. Brown lands a head kick and some punches. Silva does a body lock takedown. Brown reverses and winds up on top. Silva gets to his feet. Silva lands a tremendous body kcika and then another. Brown buckles to the mat and Silva lands ground and pound. He takes Brown’s back and attempts a rear naked choke. He can’t sink it in on the first attempt so he lands some strikes from the back. He goes for the choke again, but it’s more of a neck crank and Brown escapes. With about two minutes left Brown escapes. They’re back to their feet. Brown lands a vicious combo with some knees uppercuts, and elbows. Silva is out on his feet. More knees. More elbows. Holy shit. Brown misses a big head kick but lands and uppercut and then a throw. Brown keeps landing huge elbows and knees. He threw Silva to the ground like a rogdoll and he’s barely resisting now. This should be stopped. More uppercuts and visious hooks and elbows. Brown lands a takedown as the round ends. Jesus christ this was amazing.
Round 2: Knee to the head from Brown and he has Silva in the same spot as the end of last round, but Silva is starting to come back, actually. Silva lands a spinning back fist. But then Brown starts unloading elbows. They’re clinched now. They separate. Brown lands a hook to the body. Brown is teeing off on Silva; I have no idea what’s keeping him up. More elbows. My god. Brown lands a sick head kick and then some follow-up elbows. How the hell is Silva standing? Brown just keeps landing punches. A million right hands from Brown. Wow. A body shot from Silva hurts Brown badly. This is insane. Brown takes down Silva and gets side control. He lands some ground and pound. He’s got him in a mounted triangle, it looks like, but Silva escapes. Now he starts working a choke. Instead Brown moves to mount and starts landing loads of punches. He goes for the arm but misses and immediately transitions to a triangle. Looks like it’s over here, especially now that he’s going for the arm too, BUT SILVA ESCAPES. This is fucking insanity. Silva briefly passes to half guard but gets put back into guard. This fight.
Round 3: Silva lands a straight left and Brown lands a body kick. Brown lands a right hand, a knee, another knee, elbows, loads of uppercuts, more knees. Oh my god. They sort of flop onto the floor after an exchange, with Brown in Silva’s guard. Brown lands some ground and pound. Some elbows from guard. Silva is cut open bad. Brown landing some more ground and pound. Silva turtles up and the ref calls the fight. Amazing contest.
Now, keep in mind that Brown has been inactive since August 2013 due to a back injury. Since then, Silva has been knocked out cold by Dong-Hyun Kim, then totally styled on Takenori Sato in a freaky mismatch that one might describe as “pre-Zuffa-esque.” Still, nine months of ring rust isn’t enough to convince me that Brown should be a ‘dog in this fight, in light of his astounding run during 2012-2013.
Am I crazy, or is this the juiciest betting line we’ve seen all year? Jump on it before everybody else does. [Ed. note: I may have already placed a $10 parlay on Brown + Erik Koch + Soa Palelei to win $43.50. Deal with it.]
Now, keep in mind that Brown has been inactive since August 2013 due to a back injury. Since then, Silva has been knocked out cold by Dong-Hyun Kim, then totally styled on Takenori Sato in a freaky mismatch that one might describe as “pre-Zuffa-esque.” Still, nine months of ring rust isn’t enough to convince me that Brown should be a ‘dog in this fight, in light of his astounding run during 2012-2013.
Am I crazy, or is this the juiciest betting line we’ve seen all year? Jump on it before everybody else does. [Ed. note: I may have already placed a $10 parlay on Brown + Erik Koch + Soa Palelei to win $43.50. Deal with it.]
Brown has put together six consecutive wins over the last two years, tying him for the fourth-longest active win streak in the UFC. While it might not be totally logical to match him up against an opponent who’s been steadily alternating between wins and losses during that same time period, you can’t really complain about a booking like this, which pretty much guarantees an insane level of action, and at least one POTN bonus being handed out.
Useless fact: Brown vs. Silva will mark the first time that Brown has competed in his home state of Ohio since his destruction of Pete Sell in March 2009, and the first time that Silva has competed outside of Brazil since his submission win against Charlie Brenneman in June 2012.
Brown has put together six consecutive wins over the last two years, tying him for the fourth-longest active win streak in the UFC. While it might not be totally logical to match him up against an opponent who’s been steadily alternating between wins and losses during that same time period, you can’t really complain about a booking like this, which pretty much guarantees an insane level of action, and at least one POTN bonus being handed out.
Useless fact: Brown vs. Silva will mark the first time that Brown has competed in his home state of Ohio since his destruction of Pete Sell in March 2009, and the first time that Silva has competed outside of Brazil since his submission win against Charlie Brenneman in June 2012.
Miocic is riding back-to-back wins against Roy Nelson and Gabriel Gonzaga, both of whom he defeated by unanimous decision. The Croatian-American contender may not be as big a star as Overeem, but he’s hungry enough to give Dos Santos a tough fight…as long as he can avoid eating any spinning heel kicks.
If you’ve got any predictions, please share them with the class.
