It wasn’t that long ago that Travis Browne was being called the next big thing in the heavyweight division. One of Greg Jackson’s standout fighters and training partner to the likes of Jon Jones, he stood undefeated in April 2012—stea…
It wasn’t that long ago that Travis Browne was being called the next big thing in the heavyweight division. One of Greg Jackson’s standout fighters and training partner to the likes of Jon Jones, he stood undefeated in April 2012—steadily making his way through the UFC’s 265-pound division.
But his momentum was decidedly slowed down last October after getting TKO’d at the hands of Antonio Silva in his first headline event at UFC on FX: Browne vs. Bigfoot.
Overeem is another fighter who tasted defeat in his last fight against Silva. Both fighters, who’ll face each other on August 17, are fighting for relevancy in the division.
However, for Browne, the Dutch fighter is undoubtedly his toughest contest yet. Overeem is a veteran of the sport, a former Strikeforce heavyweight champion and a winner of the K-1 World Grand Prix—the biggest kickboxing event in the world.
And for all his achievements, Browne has never looked as good in his fights as Overeem. It’s true, Browne’s loss to Silva came after an injury sustained in the opening seconds of the match, leading to his eventual TKO in the first round. But even before that, his career was yet to be defined by head turning wins.
His win over Gabriel Gonzaga in his last fight came from clearly illegal elbows to the back of the Brazilian’s head, as Browne struggled to prevent a takedown. Prior to that, we see a submission win for Browne over the UFC’s two-fight wonder, Chad Griggs (released from his contract in January). And before that was a lacklustre decision win over another two-fight wonder in the UFC, Rob Broughton.
Add a draw against mediocre talent Cheick Kongo, in a fight he was losing but for a point deduction against Kongo, and it’s clear that Browne has yet to stamp his mark on the heavyweight division.
That could all change when he meets Overeem, returning to the Octagon for the first time since February. A win over him would, without doubt, signal that Browne can contend for heavyweight gold.
But that’s a tall order. If we see the same Overeem who demolished the likes of Brock Lesnar inside the first round—and that’s a big “if”—then it could be a short night for Browne.
As things stand, with Cain Velasquez’s dominant reign, and with the UFC’s No. 2 heavyweight, Daniel Cormier, indicating a drop down to the light heavyweight division, the race for a title shot is still wide open.
Browne will make his case for that shot when he faces his next opponent at UFC Fight Night 26 at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts in a little over two weeks.
The UFC heavyweight division is as exciting as it’s ever been.The top 10 features a list of competitive, competent fighters, and the top two guys, champion Cain Velasquez and Junior dos Santos, are currently in the process of penning one the greatest r…
The UFC heavyweight division is as exciting as it’s ever been.
The top 10 features a list of competitive, competent fighters, and the top two guys, champion Cain Velasquez and Junior dos Santos, are currently in the process of penning one the greatest rivalries in heavyweight history; they’ve already surpassed Andrei Arlovski-Tim Sylvia (by a long shot), and their third meeting, which takes place this October, should set them ahead of Brock Lesnar-Frank Mir.
But there’s a major problem: Velasquez and dos Santos are in a league of their own.
“Cigano” is currently ranked the No. 1 heavyweight contender following his knockout win over Mark Hunt at UFC 160, while Fabricio Werdum is ranked No. 3, though he is really No. 2 considering Daniel Cormier won’t fight Velasquez (his teammate) and is on the way down to light heavyweight. The trouble is, the numbers don’t truly represent the disparity that exists between dos Santos and Werdum.
At least for now, the heavyweight division is Velasquez and dos Santos, and then everybody else. And unless the UFC plans on having those two fight one another exclusively over the next two or three years, it’s going to need some young talent to climb up the heavyweight ranks.
Fortunately, there are several guys who are young enough, or new enough to the UFC scene, that are capable of making a run into or up the top-10 ranks in the next year.
Striking/takedown statistics courtesy of FightMetric.com.
Former Strikeforce heavyweight champ Alistair Overeem will take on Travis Browne at the inaugural UFC on FOX Sports 1 event set for August 17. Both Overeem and Browne currently find themselves in the upper echelon of the heavyweight division, acco…
Former Strikeforce heavyweight champ Alistair Overeem will take on Travis Browne at the inaugural UFC on FOX Sports 1 event set for August 17.
Both Overeem and Browne currently find themselves in the upper echelon of the heavyweight division, according to the UFC’s official fighter rankings.
Overeem has had a pretty rough 2013. He is coming off a devastating knockout loss to Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva and suffered an injury that forced him out of a bout with Junior dos Santos at UFC 160.
Browne’s last loss, the first of his career, also came at the hands of “Bigfoot.” He tore his left hamstring during the fight. After rehabbing, Browne returned to the Octagon at The Ultimate Fighter 17 Finale, where he knocked out Gabriel Gonzaga in the first round.
It’s hard to believe, but in the relatively barren landscape that is the heavyweight division, a victory for either fighter will thrust their name into the title picture.
Here is a head-to-toe breakdown of this clash between two of the very best 265s.
Overeem and Browne have some shared history, in that they were both flattened in recent fights against Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva, despite coming in as heavy favorites against the Brazilian future champion. Since then, Browne has rebounded with a quick-knockout of Gabriel Gonzaga at the TUF 17 Finale — aided by some controversial elbows — while Overeem has been inactive due to injury.
A year ago, I would have predicted “Reem by murder.” But now…I’m not so sure. Who would you put your money on for this one?
Overeem and Browne have some shared history, in that they were both flattened in recent fights against Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva, despite coming in as heavy favorites against the Brazilian future champion. Since then, Browne has rebounded with a quick-knockout of Gabriel Gonzaga at the TUF 17 Finale — aided by some controversial elbows — while Overeem has been inactive due to injury.
A year ago, I would have predicted “Reem by murder.” But now…I’m not so sure. Who would you put your money on for this one?
Update: Alistair Overeem vs. Travis Browne is apparently a done deal, with the UFC reposting MMA Junkie’s report on its official Twitter feed:RT: @mmajunkie: Alistair Overeem vs. Travis Browne set as UFC on FOX Sports 1 1 non-headliner dlvr.it/3PrtgN v…
Update: Alistair Overeem vs. Travis Browne is apparently a done deal, with the UFC reposting MMA Junkie’s report on its official Twitter feed:
Travis Browne is taking a huge step up in competition at UFC on Fox Sports 1-1, where he’s expected to face Alistair Overeem in Boston’s TD Garden.
MMA Junkie reports that “The Demolition Man” will be returning to the Octagon on August 17, where he’ll look to rebound from a shocking TKO defeat suffered during UFC 156 at the hands of current UFC title contender Antonio Silva.
According to MMA Junkie, UFC president Dana White has also stated that Overeem vs. Browne won’t be the main event bout.
That leaves the rest of the main card (and the preliminary bouts) yet to be filled, although UFC president Dana White has promised MMA fans that the event will be “the best television card” the UFC has ever done (via MMA Weekly).
MMA Junkie had previously reported that Overeem would likely be returning to action at UFC 164 on August 31, although that plan has obviously changed in order to continue filling the very first event for the newly established Fox Sports 1 channel.
As it stands, here’s how the UFC on Fox Sports 1-1 lineup looks so far:
• Alistair Overeem vs. Travis Browne • Matt Brown vs. ThiagoAlves • Joe Lauzon vs. Michael Johnson
Browne is coming off a win in his last UFC outing, where he scored a “Knockout of the Night” victory against Gabriel Gonzaga at The Ultimate Fighter 17 Finale.
However, the Greg Jackson’s MMA fighter isn’t too far removed from his own loss against “Bigfoot” Silva earlier in October 2012, where Browne was dealt his first MMA career loss via first-round TKO during UFC on FX 5.
It’s not known if this bout has any title implications, although Browne stands to make a significant leap up the official UFC rankings should he win.
Currently, former Strikeforce and DREAM champion Overeem still hovers in title talks, where he’s ranked as the No. 5 heavyweight in the UFC via a collective panel of media votes—while Browne is the No. 10 fighter in the division.
McKinley Noble is an MMA conspiracy theorist. His work has appeared in NVision, PC World, Macworld, GamePro, 1UP, MMA Mania and The L.A. Times.
(We’re going to have a clean, fair fight. Obey my commands at all times. If you don’t, I’mma jam this mic so deep in your eye socket you can hear yourself think. / Pic Props: The Fight Network)
There are only three certainties in life: Death, taxes, and dreadful refereeing in mixed martial arts. With tax day behind us and a clean bill of health from the doc, the only thing left to avoid is blunders like those that occurred this past Saturday night at The Ultimate Fighter Season 17 Finale at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. The offenses ranged from unrepentant fence-grabbing to controversial stoppages. (Surprisingly, we’re not talking about Steve Mazagatti this time.) Sadly, this might have been prevented if Nevada State Athletic Commission executive director Keith Kizer would squash his beef with the godfather of MMA referees, “Big” John McCarthy.
What’s the beef about, you ask? To hear McCarthy tell it, Kizer got upset and took his ball home when UFC’s first head referee said the same thing the fans have been saying for years. Via MMAFighting:
“I thought he was putting some people in positions to judge fights that didn’t understand actually what the fighters were doing, and that’s wrong,” McCarthy explained. “I said that and I stood by it. He got mad, and from that, he has never licensed me again. And that’s okay. That’s his choice. I’m not going to cry about it and worry about it.”
McCarthy apologized publicly to Kizer and three years ago resubmitted his application for licensure. Not surprisingly, he hasn’t heard back, other than an ominous note stating that his “application will stay on file.”
(We’re going to have a clean, fair fight. Obey my commands at all times. If you don’t, I’mma jam this mic so deep in your eye socket you can hear yourself think. / Pic Props: The Fight Network)
There are only three certainties in life: Death, taxes, and dreadful refereeing in mixed martial arts. With tax day behind us and a clean bill of health from the doc, the only thing left to avoid is blunders like those that occurred this past Saturday night at The Ultimate Fighter Season 17 Finale at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. The offenses ranged from unrepentant fence-grabbing to controversial stoppages. (Surprisingly, we’re not talking about Steve Mazagatti this time.) Sadly, this might have been prevented if Nevada State Athletic Commission executive director Keith Kizer would squash his beef with the godfather of MMA referees, “Big” John McCarthy.
What’s the beef about, you ask? To hear McCarthy tell it, Kizer got upset and took his ball home when UFC’s first head referee said the same thing the fans have been saying for years. Via MMAFighting:
“I thought he was putting some people in positions to judge fights that didn’t understand actually what the fighters were doing, and that’s wrong,” McCarthy explained. “I said that and I stood by it. He got mad, and from that, he has never licensed me again. And that’s okay. That’s his choice. I’m not going to cry about it and worry about it.”
McCarthy apologized publicly to Kizer and three years ago resubmitted his application for licensure. Not surprisingly, he hasn’t heard back, other than an ominous note stating that his “application will stay on file.”
Case in point: Maximo Blanco vs. Sam Sicilia. Warnings were given and warnings were dismissed. Repeatedly. During the early preliminary tilt, referee Kim Winslow was heard several times warning Blanco about grabbing the fence. In the first round alone, the Venezuelan latched his fingers onto the chain-link cage three or four times, each receiving another warning. To prove she meant business, Winslow walked over to Blacno’s corner after the round to reprimand him for his blatant defiance of the law and inform him that any future infraction would incur the maximum penalty of the law. Just kidding, she just made another empty threat, which was immediately ignored.
As a father of small children, I can attest that empty threats are easily detectable and rarely heeded by even the youngest of rule breakers. Thankfully, they haven’t stumbled upon former CP pen monkey Chad Dundas‘s inimitable article on why you should always cheat. (It’s scary just how right he is.) In the end, the judges awarded Maximo Blanco a unanimous decision victory with a final scorecard of 29-28. Had a point been deducted for the unabashed fence grabbing, the fight would’ve been a draw at worse, a knockout/submission finish at best.
Not content with being “one and done,” Winslow’s rap sheet grew in the third round of the Fight of the Night tilt between undefeated Cat Zingano and former Strikeforce champion Miesha Tate. This time the former air-traffic controller made her presence felt when she prematurely halted the action instead of letting the fight unfold organically, causing her refereeing to come under scrutiny once again. Don’t even get me started about the legality of some of those knees either. Whether you like it or not, the course of the women’s division has been altered forever.
The implications for the winner of the UFC’s second women fight in history were tantamount with being cast in the next installment of The Fast and the Furious; just ask Gina Carano. Fame, fortune, and all the exposure a girl could ever want — all wrapped up and ready to go. All you have to do is nail the audition. The winner of Tate vs. Zingano was promised a coaching gig on The Ultimate Fighter season 18 and an automatic title shot against the Queen of the Cage, Ronda Rousey (read: three months of free exposure on FS1 and an abundance of sponsorship opportunities). While I’m genuinely happy for Zingano, I can’t help but think that maybe Tate got jipped.
Entering the final frame ahead on two judges’ scorecards, “Cupcake” was set to just coast finish strong against the first mother to ever compete inside the Octagon. Zingano went full “momma bear” and started to beat the living daylights out of Tate. An appropriate subtitle for this Cat fight would’ve been ‘There Will Be Blood.’ The former champ’s face was a bloody mess, but the rest of her was still in the fight when Winslow stepped in too soon. Tate said so herself at the post-fight press conference:
“[Winslow] came in and told me before we left the locker room that, ‘If I warn you to move, all I need to know is that you want to stay in the fight.’ And I felt that I did that. I got from the bottom, up. I got kneed a few times on the way, tried to shoot another shot, and the fight was stopped. I didn’t feel like I was out of the fight.”
Okay, so what fighter wouldn’t protest in this situation? Maybe the outcome of the fight wouldn’t have changed, maybe it would’ve. Think about it, though: How many times have we witnessed amazing comebacks from fighters in similar situations? Heck, one ref even let Cheick Kongo continue fighting after being KO’d twice by Pat Barry. Tate’s come-from-behind win against Julie Kedzie comes to mind as well. When will we learn that sometimes you need to let a fighter keep fighting?
When Chris Tognoni was assigned to referee Gabriel Gonzaga and Travis Browne engaging in fisticuffs, I didn’t think anything of it, but I should’ve expected nothing more than was delivered. I mean, this was the guy who stood up Yushin Okami despite having side control of Alan Belcher at UFC 155. Just 71 seconds into the opening round, an unconscious Gonzaga crashes to the canvas after absorbing six consecutive hellbows to the skull. Kudos to “Hapa” for his ability to cultivate such ferocity with his back against the cage and end the fight from a defensive position. After watching the replay, you can see that the first two shots were legal, landing to the side of the head. The last three… well, not so much.
The fight hinges on the third elbow, whether or not it was legal, and if it even matters at all. Gonzaga’s camp thinks it does, hence their appeal of the ruling of the contest. As my colleague Seth Falvo explained, “… since Gonzaga was already out when they landed, they didn’t potentially affect the outcome of the fight. The NSAC’s ruling on the third elbow will more than likely decide the outcome of this case.”
In aftermath of the short scrap, I “overheard” a conversation between “Big” John McCarthy himself and former UFC fighter Kenny Florian in which McCarthy admits that legal shots put Gonzaga to sleep. So this should be a non-issue, right? Not for the Brazilian’s wife and children who may someday have to strain to understand the mumblings of the man they love dearly. Nor for his brain cells that took unnecessary abuse after the fight was all but over, but not officially called off because the ref was dangerously out of position. In a perfect world, Tognoni would’ve been closer to the action so as to better see what did or did not land in the mohawk area of “Napao”‘s head and at what point the hairy man lost consciousness. In a perfect world, I would be arranging to fly to Cali this weekend. You see where this is going.
MMA referees have the pivotal role of protecting the fighters while maintaining a fight’s integrity. Some do a better job of this than others. However, some perform so terribly they are altering the course of history, stealing money out of the fighter’s pockets, and more importantly, putting the fighter’s health and well-being at enormous risk. And it’s happening on such a consistent basis that corrective action must be taken. All refs should be held more accountable for their actions and properly educated on the intricacies of the great sport of mixed martial arts. Some, though, should be treated like War Machine at a holiday mixer, spit bag and all.
The Nevada State Athletic Commission is guilty of allowing inept people like Winslow, Mazagatti, and Tognoni to protect fighters in the cage instead of utilizing the well-versed John McCarthy — and all because of Keith Kizer’s bruised ego. Unfortunately, we’re not likely to see any change until someone dies in the cage. What then? Will Nevada concede its willful negligence of fighter safety in blackballing a man who has been in the sport since the foundations?
Having reffed thousands of fights, McCarthy is a man fighters trust and respect. He’s a guy they know will make the right call, whether it goes in their favor or not. How many other refs can say that? If allowed to work in the Silver State this past weekend, there would be less controversy swirling around the fight card because the action in the Octagon would’ve been handled appropriately. The NSAC owes it to the fans, promotions, fighters, and most of all themselves, to use the best referees at their disposal in order to ensure fighter safety. Anything less is criminal.
Update: 
