Tag: Matt Brown

UFC Fight Night 120 Preview: 3 Can’t-Miss Fights from Norfolk Fight Card

Hungover from UFC 217? Eat a greasy hamburger, drink a sports beverage, hit the sauna and get your head back in the game. UFC Fight Night 120 happens Saturday, and the company’s first event to Norfolk, Virginia, comes packed with dynamite.
There are no…

Hungover from UFC 217? Eat a greasy hamburger, drink a sports beverage, hit the sauna and get your head back in the game. UFC Fight Night 120 happens Saturday, and the company’s first event to Norfolk, Virginia, comes packed with dynamite.

There are no title fights on the card. Only five of the 12 main-card fighters appear in the UFC’s official rankings (for the loaded UFC 217, it was eight of 10).

So sluggishness is understandable, and I would stop short of calling this essential viewing. But if you are a fight fan, there’s a good chance you are going to be entertained. The 13-fight slate is packed with action fighters and mouthwatering matchups. Here are the three bouts you can’t miss.

For the sake of variety, we will look past the main event of Dustin Poirier vs. Anthony Pettis. That should be a great fight, but it’s no fun to pick the main event.

              

Strawweight

Angela Hill (7-3) vs. Nina Ansaroff (7-5)

Odds: Hill -188 (wager $188 to win $100)

Airs on: Fox Sports 1

Former Invicta strawweight champ and The Ultimate Fighter competitor Angela Hill is looking for her second straight win in her second UFC run. Her first fight back was a loss but earned Fight of the Night honors against top contender Jessica Andrade.

Hill brings her hyperathletic muay thai to bear against Nina Ansaroff’s kickboxing. Neither of these fighters is exceptionally interested in the ground, though if anyone’s going to take it there, it’s Ansaroff. But if it goes true to form, this fight will be a striking battle. And that striking battle will be downright pyrotechnic.

                   

Welterweight

Matt Brown (20-16) vs. Diego Sanchez (27-10)

Odds: Brown -315 (wager $315 to win $100)

Airs on: Fox Sports 1

This is as much of a no-brainer as the main event. Perhaps more so. There is zero chance this plays out as anything other than a slugfest.

Matt Brown’s American muay thai is one of the more rugged offensive attacks in UFC welterweight history. He has put away good fighters time and again in his career—with extreme prejudice.

Diego Sanchez is one of the greatest berserkers the UFC has ever seen, in any division. At one time known for power wrestling, Sanchez has turned into an unabashed brawler, known and loved for his blood-soaked abandon in the cage and his, uh, colorful lifestyle outside it.

Both of these men badly need a win to get back on top. Brown is 36 and Sanchez 35, but given their styles, they have both aged beyond their years. Brown is a substantial favorite, but Sanchez won’t give an inch. That’s the attitude fans love and fear.

                 

Bantamweight

Marlon Moraes (18-5-1) vs. John Dodson (19-8)

Odds: Dodson/Moraes -110 (wager $110 to win $100)

Airs on: Fox Sports 1

Here’s a hidden gem for the prelim watchers. During his entire five-year UFC tenure, Jackson-Winkeljohn product John Dodson has lost to two men. One of those men is flyweight champ and reigning pound-for-pound king Demetrious Johnson, who beat him twice, hence Dodson’s reappearance at bantamweight.

Dodson remains incredibly athletic, lightning-quick in his movements and packing river stones for a left hand. He’s no stranger to the ground or the clinch, either.

Marlon Moraes has good jiu-jitsu, but his real stock-in-trade is muay thai. He loves to wear people down with strikes from the clinch and chew them up in open space. He’s not a power striker, but he will slice opponents open and leave them in tatters. If Dodson can’t get in on the taller Moraes and land that big left flush, he may be in for a long night with the savvy, well-rounded Brazilian.

           

Odds accurate as of Tuesday and according to OddsShark.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Matt Brown Opens Up On His Decision To Retire

Matt Brown is calling it a career following his next bout. The MMA (mixed martial arts) veteran announced last week that he will retire after his upcoming bout with Diego Sanchez on Nov. 11 at UFC Norfolk. Brown recently spoke with Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour to open up on his decision to retire […]

The post Matt Brown Opens Up On His Decision To Retire appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Matt Brown is calling it a career following his next bout.

The MMA (mixed martial arts) veteran announced last week that he will retire after his upcoming bout with Diego Sanchez on Nov. 11 at UFC Norfolk. Brown recently spoke with Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour to open up on his decision to retire from the sport.

According to Brown, his retirement thoughts came about prior to his fight against Donald Cerrone last December, which was his most recent bout.

“Maybe that wasn’t necessarily when I first felt it, but that was when I came to the realization that it’s something I should start really thinking about,” Brown said. “Because when I was sitting in the locker room, it literally crossed my mind to not even walk out. I thought about just walking outside, getting an Uber, going back to the hotel and just being done with it. It wasn’t out of fear, it wasn’t out of nerves, it was just no excitement. I was kind of tired, a little bored. And just like, ‘Man, I don’t know if I feel like doing this right now.’

“I didn’t get into this to be a journeyman, or to be in second place, I came into this to be a champion and I got very, very close to that, I think I was one round away from beating Robbie Lawler and getting to a title shot. Being that I got that close, right now, I don’t feel like I have that hunger inside my heart that’s going to get me back to that point and that’s not to say I won’t ever come back one day. I don’t plan on pulling out of the USADA testing pool and I don’t plan on canceling my UFC contract because I’d like to keep that just in case there. But I’m not going to come back unless I plan on making a run for the title.”

As seen in the fight against Cerrone, Brown suffered a KO loss after getting hit by a nasty head kick in the third round. This marked the the first time that Brown had ever been knocked unconscious like that.

It also was the second consecutive time he’d been finished with strikes following a TKO loss to Jake Ellenberger at UFC 201.

“Absolutely, I got knocked out for the first time in my life in my last fight,” Brown said. “Got knocked down for the first time in my life before that. I have to wonder if – you know, I had a concussion last year for the first time. All these first time things start happening 40 fights into my career, as a father and a family to go home to, when I’m slurring words to my kids, you start thinking, ‘How much is it worth all this?’ So that definitely plays a part, but it’s not necessarily my primary concern though. It’s not my primary motivation to retire, but it is a piece of the puzzle for sure.”

Brown is happy that he is facing the always game Sanchez and that it will be in Norfolk, Va. It’s a highly anticipated bout due to Sanchez having a reputation for wild scraps. Brown wants to put on an entertaining show for a crowd.

As a result of the UFC announcing the bout along with its location, Browne figured that he should let everyone know ahead of time that this will be his last bout.

“Part of it was I just kind of had to commit to it,” Brown said. “What I’m afraid would happen is I would end up having a great camp, which right now I’m having probably one of the greatest camps I ever had, and then I’d get in there and feel amazing and I’d be like, ‘You know what? I’m not going to retire.’ And then a couple of weeks later be like, ‘Ah man, I don’t know, I want to retire.’ I don’t want to go through that whole up and down, that rollercoaster, I don’t want to put my family through all that.

“The second part is that I want everybody to come out, my family and everybody to know that it’s going to be my last one and they can get their tickets and everything and they can come out. Norfolk is coincidentally right in between my wife’s family and my family. My family is in Ohio, her family is in Massachusetts, it’s right there in the middle. I have a lot of family in North Carolina and Virginia Beach also, so it kind of works for everybody to kind of meet right there. And again, I think Diego makes a perfect retirement fight. I think we’re going to go out there and we’re going to have a great war and it’s going to be an amazing fight.”

The post Matt Brown Opens Up On His Decision To Retire appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Matt Brown Reveals When he Felt The Need to Retire

Matt Brown will soon be walking away from mixed martial arts (MMA) competition. Brown is set to take on Diego Sanchez on Nov. 11 inside the Ted Constant Convocation Center in Norfolk, Virginia. The bout will be part of UFC Fight Night 120’s main card. “The Immortal” insists it’ll be his last MMA bout. He’ll look […]

Matt Brown will soon be walking away from mixed martial arts (MMA) competition. Brown is set to take on Diego Sanchez on Nov. 11 inside the Ted Constant Convocation Center in Norfolk, Virginia. The bout will be part of UFC Fight Night 120’s main card. “The Immortal” insists it’ll be his last MMA bout. He’ll look […]

Matt Brown Will Retire After Upcoming Fight With Diego Sanchez

Earlier today (Sept. 21, 2017), longtime welterweight contender Matt Brown announced on social media that he will retire after his upcoming fight with Diego Sanchez, which will take place at UFC Fight Night 120 on Nov. 11, 2017 at the Ted Constant Convocation Center in Norfolk, Virginia. 11/11 will be my retirement fight. Thanks for […]

The post Matt Brown Will Retire After Upcoming Fight With Diego Sanchez appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Earlier today (Sept. 21, 2017), longtime welterweight contender Matt Brown announced on social media that he will retire after his upcoming fight with Diego Sanchez, which will take place at UFC Fight Night 120 on Nov. 11, 2017 at the Ted Constant Convocation Center in Norfolk, Virginia.

“The Immortal”, known for his warrior mentality and viciousness inside of the cage, began his UFC career after competing on season seven of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) in 2008. Since then, Brown has entered the Octagon 23 times, piling up a 13-10 UFC record and a 20-16 overall professional record.

Brown hit his peak between 2012 and 2014 when he won seven consecutive bouts, with six of those victories coming by way of stoppage. He holds notable victories over former two-time title challenger Stephen Thompson and veteran Mike Swick, and he’s known for putting on exciting fights.

In recent memory, the 36-year-old has hit a rough patch, losing five of his last six bouts. He’s also lost his last three bouts by way of stoppage against the likes of Demian Maia, Jake Ellenberger and Donald Cerrone.

UFC Fight Night 120 is set to be headlined by an intriguing lightweight matchup between Dustin Poirier and former champion Anthony Pettis.

The post Matt Brown Will Retire After Upcoming Fight With Diego Sanchez appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Matt Brown: Diego Sanchez ‘Will Be My Retirement Fight’

“The Immortal” is saying so long to MMA this November. Matt Brown, who put together a career resurgence with an incredible win streak inside the Octagon, announced on social media Thursday that his November 11 fight with Diego Sanchez at UFC Fight Night: Norfolk will be his retirement bout. “11/11 will be my retirement fight,” […]

“The Immortal” is saying so long to MMA this November. Matt Brown, who put together a career resurgence with an incredible win streak inside the Octagon, announced on social media Thursday that his November 11 fight with Diego Sanchez at UFC Fight Night: Norfolk will be his retirement bout. “11/11 will be my retirement fight,” […]

Matt Brown Hints at Return Fight Riding Three-Bout Losing Skid (UPDATED)

Matt Brown needs a victory. The 36-year-old understands that after suffering three losses last year – all via finish. In December, Brown (21-16) was stopped by a head-kick from Donald Cerrone after body shots vs. Jake Ellenberger finished him earlier in the year. Brown also dropped a fight to Demian Maia via submission. Over his […]

Matt Brown needs a victory. The 36-year-old understands that after suffering three losses last year – all via finish. In December, Brown (21-16) was stopped by a head-kick from Donald Cerrone after body shots vs. Jake Ellenberger finished him earlier in the year. Brown also dropped a fight to Demian Maia via submission. Over his […]