The UFC Fight Night 40 event came to us last night form the U.S. Bank Arena in Cincinnati, Ohio with a main event that saw Matt Brown roll to his 7th consecutive win with an impressive trouncing of Brazilian Erick Silva. Brown is now 12-5 in the UFC, and while his name had been mentioned in the title picture in the past, he definitely got a step closer to a concrete shot at the belt with this victory.
Since long time champion Georges St Pierre retired and vacated the welterweight title, the belt has been sequestered by Johny Hendrix, but the contenders are circling under him as the division appears infused with new life after GSP’s departure.
And Brown is one of the fighters making this one of the UFC’s deepest divisions. He has been with the UFC a long time, and he went an average, uninspiring 5-5 in his first ten fights before turning his career around with this recent 7 fight winning streak. The UFC right now has Tyrone Woodley bs Rory MacDonald booked, and Jake Ellenberger and Robbie Lawlor meet at UFC 173 before the end of the month. Carlos Condit is unfortunately injured, but Cuban judoka turned MMA brawler Hector Lombard has been climbing the list of contenders as well and is still in need of another win before being truly talked about for a title shot.
Hendricks has been sitting on the sidelines since winning the title against Robbie Lawlor, so it is possible the 35 year old Lombard will be fast-tracked to a title fight this year, but the UFC would benefit from doing a match between Lombard and Matt Brown before rushing into anything with either fighter. Both men would be elevated with a win, since Lombard is new to the division and is establishing his dominance, while Brown could benefit from the rated opponent, something his impressive streak has not had.
For Silva, he appears to have reached the limits of his potential. His initial loss to Jon Fitch exposed his weakness against bigger, stronger opponents and that has been confirmed in subsequent losses to Dong Hyun Kim and now Brown. Should Silva be able to make Lightweight, he should consider a reset in a new weight class where he has a better chance at being competitive.
