UFC Fight Night 40 Preview
Every now and then fighters can fall into an area that no fighter likes to fall into as they become that good but forgotten fighter. These fighters have issues in getting much recognition despite the amount of wins they put together and most of the time it is because they do not have very amazing fights. It can also happen when a division is in the midst of a headline grabbing title run. That is the case in the welterweight division where the announcement of the semi-retirement of Georges St. Pierre. A division that was once so sure became a scramble to reorganize as those who were once out of the running after losing to GSP were back. For the top fighters it was an opportunity to win one fight and get back to the title conversation. For fighters working their way up out of obscurity it meant that they would have to fight even harder to get there. With a host of top contenders returning to the top these middling fighters would have to do something big to get noticed and for two fighters they hope that UFC Fight Night 40 will be that chance to do something big. Matt Brown and Erick Silva have both had plenty of success in the UFC and some failure and yet neither has seen a main event. That will all change when they face of at the main event of UFC Fight Night 40. It will be the chance for both fighters to put themselves in the limelight in a division where they need to shine above everyone else. It is a chance for both of them to step on a stage that neither of them have ever seen before and put their name in the hat for the up and coming fighters in the division. Both are ranked fighters looking to make their way into the top of the division and they will try to take that chance. For Matt Brown it has been a long road since he was on The Ultimate Fighter 7 and failed to win the show. Since that time Brown would see a lot of mixed results in winning a few fights and losing even more. His longest streaks were losing streaks and he would find himself fighting in the undercards away from the big names fights. Then in 2012 he would start to figure it out and would begin a run of 6 straight wins where he stands right now. None have been against big names though as he continues to stay away from the best of the best and now he is one win away from getting to that level of talent. He will have to beat Erick Silva to get there though which is no easy task. Silva has struggled through the last few years since entering the UFC despite his tremendous amount of talent. Silva would come into the UFC with plenty of hype, like most Brazilian fighters, as well as a Black Belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Judo. He seemed like he was going to be the guy that could challenge GSP for his title but he needed to prove himself in a few fights first. He would come as advertised in his first fight beating Luis Ramos with a first round KO. Then he would begin his struggle losing to Carlo Prater and starting a pattern of fighting with a 50% winning rate. Most recently he would beat Takenori Sato with a first round KO and will enter his fight against Matt Brown looking to string two wins for the first time in his UFC career. The fight itself should produce some fireworks as both fighters are very good in the stand-up game. If Silva is smart he will avoid standing for too long though and should try to take advantage of his superior ground game to try to end this fight on the ground. If he does stay standing it will be a challenge to deal with Matt Brown’s powerful hands although Silva has his own power that Brown will need to deal with. For Brown the best bet is to stay standing and pick apart Silva for the finish. With four straight knockout wins Brown has shown that he has the power in his hands to end a fight quickly. It will be a good fight but in the end it will be Brown who will come out on top ending the fight with a KO in the second round to move into the top 5 in the division.
Following the pattern of fighters getting their shot at UFC Fight Night 40 Lorenz Larkin and Costas Philippou will try to make their mark on the UFC. Neither fighter has been able to amass enough wins to get their careers on the right track but both have the talent to do just that. Philippou looked like he was on his way to a legitimate title shot after his second fight in the UFC. He would beat Jorge Rivera and move on towards a five fight win streak that saw him considered one of the true fighters to watch in the middleweight division. When he got to the better talent in the division though, he would not be able to do much. Francis Carmont and Luke Rockhold would beat Philippou on their way to the top of the division. Now riding a two fight losing streak and trying to get back on track. His opponent has had a rocky start to his UFC career with a 1-2 record. Losing to Francis Carmont and Brad Taveres would not put him in the top rankings as he continues to struggle to get going so far. He now looks to beat a former future contender in hopes that he can earn the respect of the division. Both fighters are looking for a shot much like most of the card as they need this win if they are hoping to begin a real run at the middleweight division. It will be a matchup of striking styles in the co-main event as Philippou represents the technical side of the stand-up game while Larkin is the athletic wild style. Philippou loves to pick people apart in his stand-up game and he has the power to end the fight with a well-placed shot. Larkin is the opposite as he likes to swing away and hope for a shot but has the athleticism to strike form unique spots and throw people off. The fight will come down to which style works and who can catch the other first in a fight that both fighters want to win in order to move ahead in the division.
Fight Card
Main Event:
Matt “The Immortal” Brown vs. Erick Silva (Sportsnet 360/Fox Sports 1)
Main Card:
Costas Phillippou vs. Lorenz “The Monsoon” Larkin (Sportsnet 360/Fox Sports 1)
Erik “New Breed” Koch vs. Daron “Detroit Superstar” Cruickshank (Sportsnet 360/Fox Sports 1)
Neil Magny vs. Tim “The Dirty Bird” Means (Sportsnet 360/Fox Sports 1)
Soa “The Hulk” Palelei vs. Ruan “Fangzz” Potts (Sportsnet 360/Fox Sports 1)
Chris “Kamikaze” Cariaso vs. Louis “Da Last Samurai” Smolka (Sportsnet 360/Fox Sports 1)
Undercard:
Ed “Short Fuse” Herman vs. Rafael “Sapo” Natal (Sportsnet 360/Fox Sports 1)
Kyoji Horiguchi vs. Darrell “Mongoose” Montague (Sportsnet 360/Fox Sports 1)
Yan Cabral vs. Zak Cummings (Sportsnet 360/Fox Sports 1)
Eddie Wineland vs. Johnny Eduardo (Sportsnet 360/Fox Sports 1)
Manny “The Anvil” Gamburyan vs. Nik “The Carny” Lentz (UFC Fight Pass)
Justin “J-Bomb” Salas vs. Ben “Manimal” Wall (UFC Fight Pass)
Anthony “The Recipe” Lapsley vs. Albert “Einstein” Tumenov (UFC Fight Pass)
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