Since fans were blessed to see an awesome heavyweight main event and spectacular finish last weekend with UFC on Fuel TV: Struve vs. Miocic, the gang at Zuffa has decided to treat the minions again with another heavyweight main event happening this Friday night in Minneapolis, MN as UFC on FX: Browne vs. Silva will serve as the scheduled five round main event from the Target Center for your viewing pleasure.
Remaining undefeated through his career and looking to close in on a title shot, Travis “Hapa” Browne (13-0) will once again be entering into the octagon to take on a seasoned veteran and dangerous opponent in Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva (16-4). Although the commission has deemed twenty five minutes an agreed bout duration, it would be surprising to have this leave ten minutes before it is stopped and a hand is raised.
Recently earning “submission of the night” honors by tapping out Chad Griggs via arm triangle, Browne needs to be working his jiu jitsu defense in case the fight ends up on the canvas and he is caught inside Silva’s game. Keeping it on the feet and establishing a range is the key to victory for Browne; getting caught in a clinch would allow for the black belt Judo skills of Silva to take the fight wherever he desires.
While striking, Browne has been able to stand and trade successfully with legitimate strikers like Stefan Struve and Cheick Kongo, two fighters who were unable to defeat him in their respective meetings. Earning a knockout win over Silva would be an accomplishment and another name on the list of victims for Browne, gaining him more ground towards gold and see him within top names mentioned for a shot in 2013.
Debuting against former champion, Cain Velasquez in May of this year did not bode well for Silva; he was a bloody mess and was saved by the referee before the first round was over. This defeat came after losing the semi final bout of the Strikeforce HWGP to Daniel Cormier, another loss by KO/TKO. Possessing the karate skills alongside his other talents, he needs to stay away from the heavy hands of Browne and be the more technical fighter once the cage locks. Getting drawn into a brawl or slugfest will not end well, especially after having his chin tested twice and failing him.
Always a name mentioned among the greats in his division throughout the world, Sherdog has him ranked as #9 heavyweight; holding onto that status is only possible with a win and show why he is relevant among the best and not a washout from Strikeforce. Timing and experience will be his ally and looking for the opportunity to shoot in and get the fight to the ground would be my advice and let jiu jitsu do the rest Mr. Silva
Aside from the big boy’s bashing each other in, the main card has decent bouts scheduled with Jake Ellenberger vs. Jay Hieron, Josh Neer vs. Justin Edwards and a UFC flyweight eliminator bout between John Dodson and Jussier da Silva. There are some really good odds up as well for all of these fights if you are into online betting
Be thankful to the UFC this fight is for free on FX, it is worth the time to watch this Friday if you do not have plans, perhaps she will not call you to meet up or the DVR needs a workout. All in all, a good appetizer to set the stage of next weekend’s main course of UFC 153: Silva vs. Bonnar
