CINCINNATI, Ohio -- Fighting in his home state for the first time in nearly five years, Matt Brown (19-11) delivered a thrilling performances with a third-round stoppage of Brazilian import Erick Silva (16-5). Womens Nike Lunarglide 6 . The bout served as the headlining matchup of Saturdays "UFC Fight Night: Brown vs. Silva" event, which took place at U.S. Bank Arena in Cincinnati. It was Silva who looked well on his way to victory in the early going, delivering a pair of crushing kicks to the body that sent Brown crashing to the floor, doubled over in pain. But as Silva swarmed for the finish, first with strikes and then with a choke attempt, Brown somehow gutted through the onslaught and worked back to his feet. From there, it was a matter of time. Brown shook off the pain and returned fire with punches, kicks and elbows from all angles. To his credit, Silva survived the onslaught for the remainder of the first round, not to mention the entirety of the second frame, as well. Silva showed occasional signs of a comeback, as every body shot caused Brown to momentarily wince. But Browns momentum was too great and his pressure too relentless. Early in the third round, he sent Silva crashing to the floor, and after avoiding a desperation submission attempt, postured up and unleashed a furious flurry of strikes that forced referee Herb Dean to call off the bout at the 2:11 mark of the frame. Afterward, a humble Brown was typically ho-hum in regards to the "Fight of the Year" effort. "I just do what I do," Brown said. "Its my first main event in my home state. The pressure got to me a little bit. Once I settled down, I got going. "My power wasnt really there today; maybe hes that tough. When I usually hit people with those punches, they go down. He kept fighting." In the nights co-feature, Constantinos Philippou picked up a much-needed win with a thunderous first-round finish of Lorenz Larkin. The two strikers were trading bombs on the feet from the start. Philippou was firing heavy leather with his crisp boxing, while Larkin answered in kind while also missing in snapping kick to the legs. But as Philippou closed the range, he nullified some of Larkins tools, and thats when he unleashed his biggest shots. A left hand wobbled Larkin, and a right hand put him out cold at the 3:47 mark, snapping a disappointing two-fight losing streak for Philippou. "It was a big win for me," Philippou said. "It followed two very disappointing losses. Before my last fight, I wasnt sure if I wanted to keep fighting, and it showed. I looked awful. But the UFC called and gave me another shot." Lightweight striker Daron Cruickshank (15-4) scored a first-round finish of Erik Koch (14-4). It was Koch who held the centre of the cage and looked to use his range to pick apart his opponents legs. Unfortunately for Koch, Cruickshank walked through the blows and delivered a stunning left high kick that sent his opponent toppling to the canvas. Cruickshank immediately pounced with a non-stop barrage of punches and elbows that forced a merciful stop at the 3:21 mark of the first. "Its a great night for me," Cruickshank said after the win. "I showed up. When I show up, I can beat anyone. I know I belong among the best in my division, and I think I proved that tonight." In a battle of rangy welterweights, Neil Magny (10-3) started quickly then survived some late trouble to battle back for a hard-fought decision win over Tim Means (20-6-1). As two of the taller fighters in the division, both struggled to settle into a comfortable range. The back-and-forth action left the fight hanging in the balance in the final frame. Means started strong, hurting Magny with an early barrage of knees. But Magny survived the onslaught and battled back to score a takedown, stifling his opponent for the remainder of the round and edging out Means for a decision win with scores of 30-27, 29-28 and 29-28. "Having to adjust to a guy who is as long or longer than me was an adjustment for me," Magny said. "Hes a hard guy to find a training partner for, difficult to imitate, but Im happy with the win. It just puts me in place to keep climbing." In heavyweight action, Australian Soa "The Hulk" Palelei (21-3) ran his winning streak to 11 fights with a crushing first-round defeat of South African UFC newcomer Ruan "Fangzz" Potts (8-2). While Potts was considered the superior grappler, Palelei took him to the floor in the early going and quickly moved to mount, where a perfectly placed left hand put his opponent to sleep at the 2:20 mark of the first round. "I think the hard work and my good coaches have helped," Palelei said. "Relentless training is the key. Ive been working hard and want to prove to everyone that I belong in the UFC." In the nights first main-card matchup, flyweight Chris Cariaso (17-5) handed highly-touted prospect Louis Smolka (7-1) his first career defeat. While Cariaso was the smaller man in the cage, his aggressive attacks throughout the bout, coupled with a strong submission game that saw him threaten to finish the fight on a few occasions, were enough to earn him a hard-fought split-decision win. "I was looking for submissions all the time," Cariaso said after the win. "When guys get low, they get susceptible to submissions, so I tried for them. "We expected him to come forward right away, which is exactly what he did, so the fight went according to plan." Nike Free 5.0 Gray . While the 23-year-olds progress had some teammates saying he was looking pretty good, Stamkos offered a more tempered approach to his return. "I dont feel where I need to be in order to play a game yet, but its getting there," he told reporters after practice at the Bell Centre in Montreal. Nike Lunarglide 6 Photosynthesis Australia . Puig hit a three-run homer and threw out a runner at second base, leading Los Angeles over the Arizona Diamondbacks 4-1 Sunday.Each week, The Reporters put their thumbs out to the good and the bad in the world of sports. This week they discuss Knicks fans treatment of Andrea Bargnani, Cameron Wake, the Impact bowing out of the playoffs and expanded replay for MLB. Bruce Arthur, National Post: My thumb is up to New York Knicks fans and not just for living through the Isiah Thomas era. When you visit New York, its easy to feel like youve arrived from the boonies, gawking at the skycrapers and the locals are smarter than you. Well, when it comes to basketball, theres something to that. It took Knicks fans one quarter of basketball to decide that yes, Andrea Bargnani was a player who deserved booing, as his jumpers clanked and his defence floated and his rebounding remained largely theoretical. It was Bargnani at his worst, but still: one quarter and they knew. It took years before Toronto fully turned on the former first-overall pick, as he progressed from promise to disappointment to empty calories. Eventually, the relationship turned toxic. In New York, it might be already there. Steve Simmons, Sun Media: My thumb is up to Cameron Wake, the former BC Lion, who added to a week or so of stunning finishes with a game-ending safety in the Thursday night football game between Cincinnati and Wakes Miami Dolphins. Weve seen walk-off home runs in baseball, just not walk-off safeties very often - not in the way Wake planted himself into quarterback Andy Dalton and drove him into the end zone. Its only the third time in NFL history that an overtime game has ennded this way. Nike Free 5.0 2015 - Mens. The safety came after one World Series game ended with a pick-off and another ended on an obstruction call. Id love to tell you whats next, but honestly, I dont have a clue. Michael Farber, Sports Illustrated: My thumb is down to the Montreal Impact, not as much for being outclassed in its MLS playoff game Thursday, but for losing without class. Of course, context is in order here. The second-year Impact actually made the playoffs, unlike, say, feckless Toronto FC. But true to its unfortunate habit, the Impact comported itself like sugared-up kids the morning after Halloween. Taking its cultural cue from (now former) coach Marco Schallibaum, who was suspended four times during the regular season, Montreal finished its playoff match in Houston with eight players. The final accounting: Three Dynamo goals and three Impact red cards. Houston, you are not the one with a problem. Dave Hodge, TSN: My thumb is up to Major League Baseball for going full speed ahead with expanded instant replay for next season. If Bud Selig needs a feather in his cap to mark his final season, that can be it. There is still potential for trouble if the finished product is too complicated, but it is time to give the umpires the help they so obviously need. Dont worry, boo-birds--there will still be room for managers to argue with them--on non-reviewable calls only--remember, not too complicated. But good for MLB if it gets it right--the NHL is advised to observe with interest and with a willingness to follow. Cheap Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys China Wholesale Jerseys ' ' '
