Tag: Matt Brown

Watch Matt Brown finish Ben Saunders with strikes in his return at UFC 245

Longtime fan favorite Matt Brown returned in style at UFC 245, finishing Ben Saunders.

[autotag]Matt Brown[/autotag] returned to the cage in style at UFC 245.

A UFC welterweight division mainstay, Brown (22-16 MMA, 15-10 UFC) competed in his first fight in more than two years Saturday, when he took on [autotag]Ben Saunders[/autotag]. Brown defeated Saunders (22-13-2 MMA, 9-10 UFC) with strikes at 4:55 of Round 2.

After getting stuck in Saunders’ guard for nearly the entirety of the first round, Brown had better luck keeping the fight standing in the second.

As the clock wound down in Round 2, Saunders pulled guard. Instead of letting the Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt up to his feet, Brown dove into the guard.

A brutal elbow from Brown stunned Saunders. It also opened “Killa B” up for more shots. As Brown pounded away, referee Keith Peterson dove in and waved off the fight.

Brown has won back-to-back fights, turning around his luck after losses in five out of six.

As for Saunders, the Floridian has lost six out of his past seven bouts. All six defeats have come inside the distance, with five by knockout.

Check out Brown’s finish of Saunders at UFC 245 in the video clip below:

The Blue Corner is MMA Junkie’s blog space. We don’t take it overly serious, and neither should you. If you come complaining to us that something you read here is not hard-hitting news, expect to have the previous sentence repeated in ALL CAPS.

[vertical-gallery id=471071]

How UFC 245 reminds Matt Brown of 2008 debut: ‘That’s a good thing, to feel that renaissance’

Matt Brown is feeling rejuvenated heading into UFC 245 after being away for two years.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Matt Brown[/autotag] is back.

It will have been more than 25 months since Brown (21-16 MMA, 14-10 UFC) competed inside the cage. On Saturday night at UFC 245, Brown takes on fellow longtime veteran welterweight Ben Saunders (22-12-2 MMA, 9-9 UFC) in the featured preliminary card bout.

Brown previously was scheduled to take on Carlos Condit in April 2018, but a torn ACL forced him to withdraw. The injury landed him on the shelf for months. Being 37 years old when he suffered the tear, Brown said he considered himself retired.

“I retired,” Brown said. “In my head, I was ready to move on. I started my own business. I’m doing a coffee business now, too. I was ready to move on, but I was just in there training so much and just enjoying it so much. I thought, ‘Man, let’s go hit this.’ It’s too much fun.”

Not having to prepare for a fight and having no internal pressure to return helped Brown stay disciplined. Brown attributes his successful healing process to being able to mentally relax.

Relaxation made training fun again.

“This camp was everyday I went in there, I was happy to be in there,” Brown said. “I was happy to do the training. It felt good to take some time off and not be training for a fight, and be training just because I love training. I felt like getting back into this camp. I could just continue that joy of training.”

[lawrence-related id=469415,469432]

His time away has revitalized his pre-fight nerves, but also his enthusiasm and fervor for MMA. When Brown steps into the cage Saturday night, it’ll be his 24th fight – but it’s reminiscent of his 2008 debut. Carrying no momentum into this fight due to absence, Brown feels like a rookie.

“I feel like the entire holistic process of this feels like zero,” Brown said. “I feel like I’m coming from nothing. What it actually reminds me of is my first fight in the UFC. I fought Dong Hyun Kim, a tall southpaw, on a big card.

“… It feels very similar to that and a lot of the nerves taking off on the plane to get out here. I was like, ‘Oh, (expletive). Here we go.’ That’s a good thing, to feel that renaissance. To feel how it used to feel.”

UFC 245 takes place Saturday at T-Mobile Arena. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN2 and early prelims on UFC Fight Pass/ESPN+.

Check out MMA Junkie’s full interview with Brown in the video above.

[jwplayer L8eZhmXD-RbnemIYZ]

UFC 245 prelims pre-event facts: Matt Brown still holds records after two-year break

The best facts and figures about the UFC 245 prelims, where Geoff Neal meets Mike Perry in the featured bout.

The UFC’s final pay-per-view of the year is the deepest of all. UFC 245 takes place Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, and in addition to three title fights on the main card, the prelims, which air on ESPN2 and ESPN+/UFC Fight Pass, have a lot to offer.

The featured bout is an anticipated pairing in the welterweight division, with [autotag]Geoff Neal[/autotag] (12-2 MMA, 4-0 UFC) looking to continue his unbeaten start inside the octagon against fan favorite [autotag]Mike Perry[/autotag] (13-5 MMA, 6-5 UFC).

For more on the numbers behind that matchup, as well as the others, check below for 30 pre-event facts on the UFC 245 prelims.

* * * *

Featured ESPN2 prelim

Neal is the first welterweight to start 4-0 in the UFC since current champion Kamaru Usman.

Perry has earned his past two victories by decision after beginning his career with 11 stoppages.

Perry has alternated wins and losses over his past five UFC appearances. He was defeated in his most recent bout at UFC on ESPN+ 14.

Perry is 2-4 in his past six fights dating back to December 2017.

Other ESPN2 prelims

[autotag]Ketlen Vieira[/autotag] (10-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC) returns to competition for the first time since Mar. 3, 2018. The 651-day layoff is the longest of her more than five-year career.

Vieira’s four-fight UFC winning streak at women’s bantamweight is tied with Germaine de Randamie for the second longest active streak in the division behind Amanda Nunes (eight).

[autotag]Irene Aldana[/autotag] (11-5 MMA, 4-3 UFC) defends 93.5 percent of all opponent takedown attempts in UFC competition, the highest rate of any female and fourth overall in company history

[autotag]Omari Akhmedov[/autotag] (18-4-1 MMA, 7-3-1 UFC) is 2-0-1 since he returned to the UFC middleweight division in December 2017. He’s 3-0-1 in the weight class overall under the UFC banner.

[lawrence-related id=469415,469432]

[autotag]Matt Brown[/autotag] (21-16 MMA, 14-10 UFC) returns to competition for the first time since Nov. 11, 2017. The 763-day layoff is the longest of his more than 14-year career.

Brown competes in his 25th UFC welterweight bout, the second most appearances in divisional history behind Thiago Alves (26).

Brown is 2-5 in his past seven UFC appearances dating back to July 2014.

Brown’s 14 victories in UFC welterweight competition are tied for fourth most in divisional history behind Georges St-Pierre (19), Matt Hughes (16) and Thiago Alves (15).

Brown has earned 19 of his 21 career victories by stoppage. That includes 12 of his 14 wins under the UFC banner.

Brown’s 12 stoppage victories in UFC welterweight competition are tied with Hughes for most in divisional history.

Brown’s 10 knockout victories in UFC welterweight competition are the most in divisional history.

Brown’s 24 submission attempts in UFC welterweight competition are second most in divisional history behind Chris Lytle (31).

[autotag]Ben Saunders[/autotag] (22-12-2 MMA, 8-9 UFC) is 5-6 since he returned to the UFC for a second stint in August 2014; it includes one win outside the promotion.

Saunders’ three-fight losing skid is the longest of his career. He hasn’t earned a victory since June 2018.

Saunders’ three knockout victories stemming from knee strikes in UFC competition are tied with Anderson Silva and Michael Bisping for second most in company history behind T. Alves (four).

Saunders earned the first omoplata submission finish in UFC history when he defeated Chris Heatherly at UFC Fight Night 49. Adam Wieczorek earned the second finish with the technique at UFC on FOX 29.

Saunders omoplata finish was just the second in the combined history of the UFC, WEC, Strikeforce and PRIDE. It’s one of three overall, along with Wieczorek and Shane Del Rosario, who also accomplished the feat.

Featured ESPN+/UFC Fight Pass prelim

[autotag]Chase Hooper[/autotag] (6-0-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC), 20, is the youngest of the 26 fighters scheduled to compete at the event.

Hooper returns to competition for the first time since Dec. 14, 2018. The 365-day layoff is the longest of his more than two-year career.

Other ESPN+/UFC Fight Pass prelims

[autotag]Brandon Moreno[/autotag] (15-5-1 MMA, 3-2-1 UFC) is on a three-fight winless skid in UFC competition. He hasn’t earned an octagon victory since April 2017.

[autotag]Kai Kara-France[/autotag]’s (20-7 MMA, 3-0 UFC) three-fight UFC winning streak at flyweight is tied for the second longest active streak in the division behind Henry Cejudo (four).

Kara-France has earned all three of his UFC victories by decision.

[autotag]Jessica Eye[/autotag] (14-7 MMA, 4-6 UFC) competes in her fifth UFC women’s flyweight bout, tied for the second most appearances in divisional history behind Gillian Robertson (six).

Eye is 3-1 since she dropped to the UFC women’s flyweight division in January 2018.

Eye’s six losses in UFC competition are tied for second most for any female in company history behind Angela Hill (seven).

[autotag]Oskar Piechota[/autotag] (11-2-1 MMA, 2-2 UFC) has suffered consecutive losses after starting his career on a 12-fight unbeaten streak.

UFC research analyst and live statistics producer Michael Carroll contributed to this story. Follow him on Twitter @MJCflipdascript.

[jwplayer D5J9Nfq1-RbnemIYZ]

What could’ve been: 10 of the best booked UFC fights that never happened

Conor McGregor vs. Rafael dos Anjos, Nate Diaz vs. Dustin Poirer, Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Tony Ferguson, and more make the list.

There have been numerous highly anticipated UFC matchups that have fallen through over the years because of unfortunate circumstances, and they easily could’ve produced fireworks.

From championship fights, to rivalries, to intriguing stylistic pairings, here are 10 of the best scheduled matchups that never ended up happening.

****

Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Tony Ferguson

[jwplayer o0fhTRLu-FLu19iir]

While it appears that another [autotag]Khabib Nurmagomedov[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Tony Ferguson[/autotag] fight booking is imminent at the time of this writing, let’s just hope the fifth time is the charm.

These two were scheduled to fight on four other occasions, but a series of unfortunate circumstances and injuries has resulted in it never happening. The first booking was during The Ultimate Fighter Finale card on Dec. 11, 2015, when Nurmagomedov was forced out due to injury and replaced by Edson Barboza. Ferguson submitted Barboza in the second round via D’Arce choke, earning both “Performance” and “Fight of the Night” bonuses.

They were then scheduled to fight at UFC on FOX 19 on April 16, 2016, but this time it was Ferguson who pulled out. Ferguson was replaced by newcomer Darrell Horcher, whom Nurmagomedov battered before earning a second-round TKO win.

Then, an interim lightweight championship fight was scheduled to take place at UFC 209 on March 4, 2017, but the fight was canceled due to Nurmagomedov falling ill from a bad weight cut.

Finally, the two were set to meet a fourth time. At UFC 223 in April 2018, Nurmagomedov and then-interim champ Ferguson were going to fight for the undisputed lightweight title. But in a freak accident, Ferguson tripped over a wire and blew out his knee. Max Holloway stepped in briefly, but the New York State Athletic Commission deemed Holloway unfit to compete due to a severe weight cut. Al Iaquinta, who was scheduled to face Paul Felder on the same night, stepped in for the massive opportunity but was dominated by Nurmagomedov in a five-round battle.

Nurmagomedov finally realized his dream of becoming the UFC lightweight champ, and here’s hoping the fight with Ferguson will finally come to fruition in early 2020 as expected.

Pages: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4, Page 5, Page 6, Page 7, Page 8, Page 9, Page 10