In the main event of UFC Fight Night 40, “The Immortal” Matt Brown forced his opponent, former top prospect Erick Silva, out of the Octagon on a stretcher following his third-round, technical knockout of the Brazilian. After the first round started disastrously, the Cincinnati, Ohio-native roared back, out-striking Silva 161-39 over the course of the bout.
The hometown victory marked the seventh straight win for Brown inside the Octagon, leading Dana White to declare that he is “in the mix” for a welterweight shot. While such a streak would essentially necessitate in any other division in the UFC, not so for the almost unfairly stacked welterweight division.
For Brown, he is still at least one fight, and more likely two, away from a title shot. As of now, the next contender for Johny Hendricks’s welterweight championship will come from the UFC 174 bout between Tyron Woodley and Rory MacDonald. Other top contender Jake Ellenberger is fighting Robbie Lawler at UFC 173, and a bout against the winner, especially if it’s Ellenberger, would make sense. Barring that fight, a matchup against Cuban judoka Hector Lombard would appear to make the most sense.
In regards to Silva, this is another disappointing fight in his once-bright UFC career, as he drops to 4-4 in the UFC; alternating wins and losses with every fight. Still, the as-of-now #14 ranked welterweight in the UFC has an exciting fighting style that warrants his sticking around. A match-up against someone like the veteran Mike Pyle might be appropriate.
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