MMA fans from around the world who didn’t watch UFC Fight Night 26: Shogun vs. Sonnen last night missed something special because it was an event stacked with epic fights on Fox Sports 1, and it certainly lived up to all the hype going in.
Matt Brown was a beast in a match that lasted 29 seconds with Mike Pyle, winning via knockout due to punches. Brown also earned his first Knockout of the Night bonus award in the UFC. Heavyweight Travis Browne showed heart and an iron chin during an onslaught of punches, including knees from Alistair Overeem before knocking him out with a front kick and punches in the first round. The Irishman Conor McGregor had the crowd cheering for him before stepping into the Octagon with the American Max Holloway. McGregor dominated Holloway both standing and on the ground, winning the fight by unanimous decision.
Lastly, the man that most people call “The American Gangster” put on one hell of technical show on former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Shogun Rua, ultimately making Shogun look like a newcomer in the sport. It took Chael Sonnen a single round to dominate, and tap out Shogun with a guillotine choke submission.
Overall, very impressive work by Sonnen, who has become the man of the hour since his win, and is being called out left and right by a number of fighters including Vitor Belfort, Lyoto Machida, and Phil Davis. However, Sonnen already called out his second biggest rival in the sport Wanderlei Silva. Based on Silva’s reaction alone in the video clip above, it may look like we have a match in the making. According to Silva’s official Twitter account, he is waiting for a call from the UFC.
Before anything gets set in stone, check out Silva’s reaction first, starting at the 5:15 mark.
