(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
Tomorrow night, the UFC returns to Georgia to deliver an action-packed evening featuring a who’s who of “Who’s that?” with Fight Night 35: Rockhold vs. Philippou. I’m kidding of course, because Fight Night 35 is at least attempting to make up for its lack of name power with a six-fight main card, and you know what they say about quantity over quality (it never fails!).
So as has become tradition with every great (or at least mediocre) fight card, it’s time to rank the Fight Night 35 main card fights according to our — and therefore, your — interest level. Let’s do this!
The only reason we ranked this fight last is due to the fact that a win won’t do much for either man other than secure their job for another fight. But don’t get us wrong, there’s plenty to watch for in this showdown between TUF alums. Cole Miller has dropped three out of his past five fights, but that didn’t stop him from calling out half the lightweight division (including “Colin Magoober”) after narrowly defeating Andy Ogle at Fight Night: Munoz vs. Machida last October. We expect him to go full heel against Sicilia, who recently saved his career and broke a two-fight skid by tearing through Godofredo Castro like a dingo through a baby at Fight Night 32. This one probably isn’t going the distance.
Tomorrow night, the UFC returns to Georgia to deliver an action-packed evening featuring a who’s who of “Who’s that?” with Fight Night 35: Rockhold vs. Philippou. I’m kidding of course, because Fight Night 35 is at least attempting to make up for its lack of name power with a six-fight main card, and you know what they say about quantity over quality (it never fails!).
So as has become tradition with every great (or at least mediocre) fight card, it’s time to rank the Fight Night 35 main card fights according to our — and therefore, your — interest level. Let’s do this!
The only reason we ranked this fight last is due to the fact that a win won’t do much for either man other than secure their job for another fight. But don’t get us wrong, there’s plenty to watch for in this showdown between TUF alums. Cole Miller has dropped three out of his past five fights, but that didn’t stop him from calling out half the lightweight division (including “Colin Magoober”) after narrowly defeating Andy Ogle at Fight Night: Munoz vs. Machida last October. We expect him to go full heel against Sicilia, who recently saved his career and broke a two-fight skid by tearing through Godofredo Castro like a dingo through a baby at Fight Night 32. This one probably isn’t going the distance.
This fight may have been given co-main event status, but neither Tavares nor Larkin have done much lately to convince me that this fight will be all that exciting. Both guys are relatively solid strikers (although Larkin should hold an advantage on the feet) but Tavares’ current four-fight win streak has come via four straight decisions over relatively low-level competition. Larkin has gone 1-1 since making the transition over to the UFC, dropping a controversial and yawn-inducing decision to Francis Carmont – which are the only kind of Francis Carmont fights, really — before notching a UD over Chris Camozzi in November. I expect Tavares to clinch long and often in this one and attempt to grind out another mostly forgettable decision.
Seriously though, Bjorn drove a spike through a dog’s head. A dog that presumably had no hand (paw) in the feud between Rebney and Seth Ersoff. What the fuck is happening to this world? Ranking:
Despite the fact that he came up short in his recent title bid against Demetrious Johnson, there’s no denying that John Moraga is a bad man. Matter of fact, he’s probably one of the hardest hitting guys in the flyweight division, and if you don’t believe me, look no further than his finish of Ulysses Gomez. Moraga will be squaring off with a similarly fierce striker in Ortiz, who scored an impressive third round TKO over Jose Maria Tome in his UFC debut. And who knows? If Moraga defeats Ortiz in impressive enough fashion, he’ll probably earn himself another title shot in the ultra-thin flyweight division.
Do you think Bjorn ever wakes up at night in a cold sweat with the image of that dog’s mutilated skull frozen in his mind? And when his wife turns over to comfort him, he just pushes her away and tells her that she doesn’t understand what he has to do, what he’s had to do, to keep food on their plates? Chilling. Ranking:
Mike Easton has quickly gone from one of the bantamweight division’s brightest prospects to a guy who could be fighting for his job come tomorrow night. Granted, his previous split decision loss to Brad Pickett took Fight of the Night at UFC on FUEL 9, but Easton has also dropped two straight at 135. Before his loss to Pickett, Easton was similarly upended by Raphael Assuncao, who went on to defeat Dillashaw at Fight Night 29 last October. Prior to that, however, Dillashaw notched three finishes inside four victories, adding credence to the Bang Effect theory posited by Reed Kuhn. Even if this fight goes the distance, it will most likely be a back-and-forth banger contested mostly on the feet.
My beloved family dog, Zeus, passed away recently. Not due to a railroad spike being driven through it’s head, just because of old age. My kid brother has been having a tough time adjusting. I hope Seth Ersoff doesn’t have kids who had to experience such a mentally scarring travesty. Ranking:
The story of Derek Brunson’s UFC run has been a Tale of Two Cities. After putting on one of the absolutely worst performances of the year in his win over Chris Leben at UFC 155, Brunson rebounded in a big way against Brian Houston, dropping the previously undefeated middleweight with a head kick before finishing him with a rear-naked choke in just 48 seconds at Fight for the Troops 3. Standing across the cage from Brunson will be a dynamic KO artist in Romero, who has all but erased the memory of his embarrassing performance against Rafael Cavalcante with two straight knockouts in the UFC, including a brilliant flying knee KO of Clifford Starks at UFC on FOX 9. If this fight makes it out of the first round, well, it’s not making it out of the first round.
Perhaps the most prominent question running through my mind is: What would Bjorn have done if Ersoff didn’t back down after finding out that his dog had been killed? Drown the children that he may or may not have? Torch his mother’s bed while she was sleeping in it? Or would he just continue to place dead dogs on Ersoff’s doorstep until he finally withdrew the lawsuit? SOMEONE HELP ME UNDERSTAND THIS. Ranking:
You gotta feel for Luke Rockhold. The Santa Cruz born-prospect was riding high into his UFC debut on the heels of nine straight wins and two middleweight title defenses under the Strikeforce banner. Then he was matched up against Vitor Belfort for his UFC debut and this happened. By the time Rockhold came to, he had fallen prey to the greatest knockout of 2013. Philippou has also fallen on hard times as of late, seeing his five-fight UFC win streak snapped by Francis Carmont via, you guessed it, an incredibly boring unanimous decision at UFC 165. One would imagine that main event status and a chance to be thrust back into title contention will make for a hell of a fight between these two, hence it’s ranking on the only ranking system that matters.
It scares me to death to think that a sociopathic, dog-murdering lunatic is the CEO of the second biggest MMA organization in the world. I haven’t been able to sleep lately and have adopted four dogs in the past week, yet the void in my soul remains. I have Bjorn Rebney to thank for it. Bjorn Rebney: Dog Murderer. I don’t think I could ever forgive someone for such a thing, especially if that person would eventually be responsible for bringing Tito Ortiz back into the limelight. That’s two strikes, Bjorn, which is probably how many swings of the hammer it took you to drive that railroad spike into that poor canine’s skull. And in my book, there is no third strike. May these dog gifs haunt you for the rest of your days. Ranking:
How would you rank these fights, Nation? And do you think that Bjorn Rebney should be arrested and tried by the Animal Cops for his crimes against dogmanity?
The belief was that the eye was healed and ready to go, but another setback happened to Bisping during training, while getting ready for Munoz, and he was forced to visit his doctor again where he was given the diagnosis.
According to Bisping’s management team at Paradigm Sports Management, who spoke to Bleacher Report on Friday evening, the British fighter already had the necessary corrective eye surgery on Thursday and will now begin his rest and rehabilitation.
Bisping is expected to have no contact whatsoever on the eye for the approximately the next three months, and then they hope he can return to full sparring and a fight in four to six months.
The timelines are obviously estimates based on the surgery and typical recovery time, but Bisping could potentially return sooner or later depending on how he heals up.”
Lyoto Machida, who was set to face Tim Kennedy less than two weeks after UFC Fight Night, at Fight for the Troops 3 on November 6th, has been tabbed to replace Bisping against Munoz. Kennedy is now left without an opponent, and has been doing his best on twitter to find a new one.
First, Kennedy, called out former middleweight champion Rich Franklin:
The belief was that the eye was healed and ready to go, but another setback happened to Bisping during training, while getting ready for Munoz, and he was forced to visit his doctor again where he was given the diagnosis.
According to Bisping’s management team at Paradigm Sports Management, who spoke to Bleacher Report on Friday evening, the British fighter already had the necessary corrective eye surgery on Thursday and will now begin his rest and rehabilitation.
Bisping is expected to have no contact whatsoever on the eye for the approximately the next three months, and then they hope he can return to full sparring and a fight in four to six months.
The timelines are obviously estimates based on the surgery and typical recovery time, but Bisping could potentially return sooner or later depending on how he heals up.”
Lyoto Machida, who was set to face Tim Kennedy less than two weeks after UFC Fight Night, at Fight for the Troops 3 on November 6th, has been tabbed to replace Bisping against Munoz. Kennedy is now left without an opponent, and has been doing his best on twitter to find a new one.
First, Kennedy, called out former middleweight champion Rich Franklin:
“Mr. @RichFranklin
I’m not sure if you have plans Nov 6th? I just got stood up on for a date, and now need someone else to step in… ,”Kennedy tweeted.
When we got no response from “Ace,” Kennedy went off on Chris Camozzi.
“Hey @ChrisCamozzi I think you have bad hair, and should fight me in defense if your stylist. (My best attempt at picking a fight),” Kennedy spit out on twitter.
Lorenz Larkin, who is currently scheduled to fight Camozzi at UFC Fight Night 31 might not like Kennedy trying to get in on his action but Camozzi seems fine with switching opponents.
“@TimKennedyMMA how dare you talk about my hair!!! That’s crossing the line bro! I’m always available,” Camozzi tweeted back at Kennedy.
Nothing official has been announced for Kennedy yet, ‘Taters, but we’ll let you know if his campaign of nasty trash talks snags him a new opponent.
(This photo of Ronny Markes was included to show Paulo Filho in happier times, and the shorts he bought at the Walmart across the street from this event when he realized he left his gym bag at home.)
Over the past twenty-four hours, ‘Fight for the Troops 3’ has seen several bouts added to a card that will be headlined by the middleweight debut of Lyoto Machida. Some of these fights are worth getting excited about (such as the Jorge Masvidal vs. Rustam Khabilov bout), while others, well, the Facebook preliminary card needs something, I guess. The following bouts are also set for the event, loosely arranged in order of how interesting they are on paper.
(This photo of Ronny Markes was included to show Paulo Filho in happier times, and the shorts he bought at the Walmart across the street from this event when he realized he left his gym bag at home.)
Over the past twenty-four hours, ‘Fight for the Troops 3′ has seen several bouts added to a card that will be headlined by the middleweight debut of Lyoto Machida. Some of these fights are worth getting excited about (such as the Jorge Masvidal vs. Rustam Khabilov bout), while others, well, the Facebook preliminary card needs something, I guess. The following bouts are also set for the event, loosely arranged in order of how interesting they are on paper.
George Roop vs. Francisco Rivera – This bout was originally scheduled for UFC 166, but was moved to this card to make room for Sarah Kaufman vs. Jessica Eye. Some fun facts about this fight: George Roop will be entering a fight riding back-to-back victories for the first time since 2008 for this one, and if Rivera didn’t piss hot after UFC 149, he’d be riding a five fight winning streak. It’s never a smart idea to bet money on a George Roop fight, but I think we’re in for a fun scrap.
Ronny Markes vs. Yoel Romero – Former Olympic wrestler Yoel Romero will look to follow up his devastating UFC debut with an impressive performance against a fighter who is 3-0 in the UFC and hasn’t lost since 2010. Sign me up.
Chris Camozzi vs. Lorenz Larkin – Yeah, I know, both guys are coming off losses. But before accepting a fight against Jacare on short notice, Camozzi was riding a four fight win streak that included victories over at least three guys you’ve heard of. Likewise, you can make the argument that Lorenz Larkin should still be undefeated; his loss against Francis Carmont this past April was debatable, to say the least. It’ll make for a decent midcard fight.
Neil Magny vs. Seth Baczynski – It’s win or go home for both fighters. That should at least provide a dramatic finish to a fight I otherwise wouldn’t be able to care less about.
(We’re sorry for your loss, Lorenz, but believe us when we say that we know how it feels to be passed over.)
A few hours ago, we made the foolish suggestion that once all of Strikeforce’s chosen ones made their way over to the UFC, Luke Rockhold, should finally give Lorenz Larkin the title shot he had so rightfully earned by collecting four victories in their former promotion over mostly unknowns and nearly getting beaten to death by a roided up King Mo. Rockhold has been ducking himnursing various injuries for months now, and we figured it would be in the champ’s best interest to put all the doubt to rest in regard to Larkin once and for all.
Which is why it makes perfect sense that Rockhold has now called out Costa Philippou and completely invalidated our work in the process. Rockhold recently spoke with MMAFighting — but only because we were totally busy doing some research at the time — and not only did he pick a potential opponent for his UFC debut, but he picked a venue as well:
I think Costa Philippou makes the most sense right now. He’s coming off a win, and I think he’s a good opponent. Let’s get it on at [UFC on FOX 7].
As you can see, Rockhold is going to need to step up his shit-talking game if he ever wants a shot at becoming the real middleweight champion. Acknowledging a potential opponents victories? Calling him “a good opponent?” Jesus, Luke, if you don’t start making name-related insults (Can’t-stand-ya Tulip-poo?) or start mocking “the dirt poor Pygmy people of Cyprus” pretty soon, it’s going to be all FX and FUEL undercards for you from here on out.
(We’re sorry for your loss, Lorenz, but believe us when we say that we know how it feels to be passed over.)
A few hours ago, we made the foolish suggestion that once all of Strikeforce’s chosen ones made their way over to the UFC, Luke Rockhold, should finally give Lorenz Larkin the title shot he had so rightfully earned by collecting four victories in their former promotion over mostly unknowns and nearly getting beaten to death by a roided up King Mo. Rockhold has been ducking himnursing various injuries for months now, and we figured it would be in the champ’s best interest to put all the doubt to rest in regard to Larkin once and for all.
Which is why it makes perfect sense that Rockhold has now called out Costa Philippou and completely invalidated our work in the process. Rockhold recently spoke with MMAFighting – but only because we were totally busy doing some research at the time — and not only did he pick a potential opponent for his UFC debut, but he picked a venue as well:
I think Costa Philippou makes the most sense right now. He’s coming off a win, and I think he’s a good opponent. Let’s get it on at [UFC on FOX 7].
As you can see, Rockhold is going to need to step up his shit-talking game if he ever wants a shot at becoming the real middleweight champion. Acknowledging a potential opponents victories? Calling him “a good opponent?” Jesus, Luke, if you don’t start making name-related insults (Can’t-stand-ya Tulip-poo?) or start mocking “the dirt poor Pygmy people of Cyprus” pretty soon, it’s going to be all FX and FUEL undercards for you from here on out.
Rockhold also threw in his two cents regarding the upcoming UFC on FX 7 showdown between Michael Bisping and Vitor Belfort. And once again, he was incredibly professional in both his view of the fight’s implications and what he would like to accomplish moving forward. It’s like, do you even want to be a fucking fighter, bro?
I want Bisping to stay on the up and up so I can knock him out, but I want Belfort to win because that would open a path to Anderson [Silva].
I want the fight that gets me to Anderson as fast as I can. I believe I can fight him like no one else can. I want that opportunity because I believe I’m the No. 1 contender. I want to fight Silva before Weidman does because I think he might beat him.
OK, we’ll give Luke props for stirring the pot a little bit at the end there, but we don’t think he has to worry about Weidman getting to Anderson Silva first. If anything, Rockhold should be calling out Sensei Seagal for a “winner gets Anderson’s full attention” battle of wills. There could be three categories: a guitar solo shred-off, a surf competition, and to balance things out, a deathmatch held at the premier of Seagul’s next film, as to make sure that there are no witnesses present. BANG POW SHAZAAM! CAN I GET AN AMEN?!
(Ladies, you are not prepared to deal with Matt’s “O-face.” You just aren’t.)
Matt Riddle is on the fast track to replacing Michael Phelps as the most motivated stoner on the planet Earth, you guys. After fighting just once in 2011, Riddle put together a 3-1 record in 2012 (well, 2-1 and 1 NC if you’ve ever sucked dick for weed before) and already has his first fight for 2013 lined up. The man with one of the sunniest dispositions in the sport will be taking on butter-toothed BritChe “Beautiful” Mills at UFC on FUEL 7, which goes down from the Wembley Arena in London, England on February 16th.
On the heels of a disappointing victory via injury over Duane Ludwig at UFC on FUEL 5, Mills will be looking to extend his octagon record to 3-1 with a victory over Riddle, who is fresh off a unanimous decision victory over John Maguire at UFC 154. Although Riddle has developed for putting on exciting brawls in his last few performances, he might want to avoid these kind of shenanigans against a power striker like Mills, who proved to Rick Flair-impersonator Chris Cope that he is not a fan of theatrics in his UFC debut.
(Ladies, you are not prepared to deal with Matt’s “O-face.” You just aren’t.)
Matt Riddle is on the fast track to replacing Michael Phelps as the most motivated stoner on the planet Earth, you guys. After fighting just once in 2011, Riddle put together a 3-1 record in 2012 (well, 2-1 and 1 NC if you’ve ever sucked dick for weed before) and already has his first fight for 2013 lined up. The man with one of the sunniest dispositions in the sport will be taking on butter-toothed BritChe “Beautiful” Mills at UFC on FUEL 7, which goes down from the Wembley Arena in London, England on February 16th.
On the heels of a disappointing victory via injury over Duane Ludwig at UFC on FUEL 5, Mills will be looking to extend his octagon record to 3-1 with a victory over Riddle, who is fresh off a unanimous decision victory over John Maguire at UFC 154. Although Riddle has developed for putting on exciting brawls in his last few performances, he might want to avoid these kind of shenanigans against a power striker like Mills, who proved to Rick Flair-impersonator Chris Cope that he is not a fan of theatrics in his UFC debut.
And if you guys still give a shit about Strikeforce matchups, you’ll be happy to know that two-time almost title challenger Lorenz Larkin has been booked against a replacement opponent for the final Strikeforce card now that champion Luke Rockhold has bowed out again due to injury. Ironically, “Monsoon” will now meet the man who Rockhold took the title from, Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza, who is on the heels of a quick knockout over Derek Brunson at Strikeforce: Rousey vs. Kaufman.
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