UFC Fight Night 40 Date: May 10, 2014 Arena: US Bank Arena City: Cincinnati, OH Welterweight bout: Erick Silva (-240) vs Matt “The Immortal” Brown (+200) Fight Breakdown: The main event for UFC Fight Night 40 will be a welterweight clash between arguably two of the best finishers in the division. Fireworks are expected when the Octagon door closes shut and the Brazilian Erick Silva stares across the cage at Ohio’s very own, Matt “The Immortal” Brown. Silva is the favorite in this tilt at -240 ($240 to win $100), while Brown makes his return to the cage as an underdog at +200 ($100 to win $200) at Several Bookmakerss. Erick Silva (16-4 MMA, 4-3 UFC) is coming off a very impressive first round TKO victory over Takenori Sato at UFC Fight Night 36 over two months ago, and makes a quick turnaround in effort to make it 2-0 since suffering a second round knockout against “Stun Gun” Dong-Hyun Kim. All four of Silva’s Octagon victories have come by way of finish inside the very first round. He is one of those fighters that is flat out skilled all-around. Not just average everywhere, he is excellent everywhere. He destroys his opponents on the feet, and submits them on the mat. The Brazilian is a definite finisher who looks for the finish right from the opening bell, like a bull out of the gate. Thus far in his career, 13 of his 16 professional career wins have come inside the distance; four by TKO/KO and nine by submission. The one flaw in his game is his cardio. It has been improving but still isn’t great. Though, that likely won’t be a concern against Brown, who has shown his own share of troubles in that department. Matt “The Immortal” Brown (18-11 MMA, 11-5 UFC) is set to make his return to the Octagon following a nine month layoff. He is riding an impressive six-fight winning streak, with five of the six wins coming by way of T/KO. He last saw action at UFC Fight Night 26, where he scored a knockout over Mike Pyle less than half a minute into the fight. Brown is an aggressive fighter who looks to move forward and constantly pressure his opponents. He possesses great power in both hands and a solid chin behind them. He is very durable and is the type of fighter who will always leave it all in the cage. “The Immortal” has nice head movement, good takedown defense, and a solid Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu game, both on and off his back. His submission defense, however, is very questionable, as nine of his 11 professional mixed martial arts career losses have been due to tapout. The 33-year old has a powerful top game and works a heavy ground and pound. When off his back, he is capable of pulling off some excellent sweeps and reversals. On the feet, he likes to use his vicious knees and elbows, especially from inside the clinch, a position in which he is often dominant, due to his background in Muay Thai. He calls himself a “technical brawler” which I too is very appropriate for his style, as he loves to turn fights into brawls but is also accurate with his shots. Brown is very confident in his hands, and is always looking to end the fight with them. He solid uppercuts, and works fantastic hooks, both to the head and body. The TUF season 17 veteran’s cardio differs from fight to fight and is very questionable. Fight Prediction: This is the first five round fight for both welterweights, and they both have a history of cardio issues, even considering most of their fights have resulted in early finish. I think this fight also ends early, and likely within the first couple of rounds. I expect both men to come out of the gate looking to finish early, and I think one of them will. I won’t be the least bit surprised to see Brown lay Silva out, but I am expecting the opposite, which I think has a greater chance of happening, both by T/KO and submission. I think there is a good chance Silva gives Brown the first T/KO defeat of his professional mixed martial arts career. Silva holds most of the advantages heading into this bout, but one advantage Brown holds that may come to be a factor is the hometown advantage. Silva is mostly used to fighting in Brazil and sometimes in neutral territory, so having a crowd who is completely against him may play a factor with him mentally, though I don’t think it will. Gabe’s Call: Erick Silva by TKO (strikes, 1:33 round 1) Gabe’s Recommended Play: Erick Silva (-240) parlayed with Lorenz Larkin (-235) for +102 2.6u to win 2.65u
