UFC Fight Night 40 ‘Brown vs. Silva’ Event Review

The U.S. Bank Arena in Cincinnati, Ohio was Saturday night’s host for the fortieth fight night event in the history of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Although there were no big names on show, the card was full of even match-ups and quality finishes.

The main event of the evening saw the streaking Matt Brown take on the streaky Erick Silva in the welterweight division. As expected Silva started quickly and took Brown down rapidly although he immediately reversed it and got back to his feet. Silva then dropped Brown with a brutal combination and took the back as Brown barely survived. With both hooks in, Silva worked on the rear naked choke but Brown defended well before getting back standing. Brown unleashed a series of elbows and punches, hurting Silva as the crowd went wild. Brown continued to smash Silva inside the last-minute of the round as the Brazilian lost all composure. Silva did better in the second, hurting Brown with a body kick early although Brown still dominated, landing at will. Huge knees from Brown slowed Silva again who looked to be out on his feet. A left hook to the body from Silva hurt Brown who then took it to the ground. A triangle, D’arce, armbar and armbar/triangle were unsuccessful for Brown as the second round ended. Brown laid on the pressure again in the third landing knees and punches to the face of Silva before taking it to the ground – the end was nigh. Brown opened Silva with a series of elbows and finished him with ground and pound as Silva could not fight back. Brown is now on a seven fight win streak and must be on the verge of a title shot.

Middleweights were in action next as Lorenz Larkin took on Constantinos Philippou. Heavy leather was exchanged early with Philippou getting the better of it, landing two left hooks. A short clinch battle ended in another fist throw with Larkin landing the harder. Again they traded concussive blows with both men walking through his opponent’s strikes. That was until Philippou landed a three punch combination; stunning Larkin with a left, hurting him with a right and knocking him out with another left.

The most anticipated fight on the card was in the lightweight division and it saw kickboxer Daron Cruickshank take on the well-rounded Erik Koch. Right hands were traded from the bell followed by a neat head kick by Cruickshank. Both men were happy to keep the range and shoot in with rapid attacks. The leg kicks for Koch were landing at a high volume and were answered, on occasion, by body kicks from DC. And then it was all over. Cruickshank stepped in with a huge left kick to the head and knocked Koch down before finishing him with a series of elbows as he hit the floor.

Neil Magny and Tim Means traded blows in the sleeper fight of the night. The first round was uneventful throughout with Means having the slight advantage early if forced to choose. Magny got going late in the period getting the only takedown (which he didn’t hold) and putting Means on his back with a straight left. The middle round was slow to start again. A takedown from Means midway through saw Magny eat a plethora of punches and knees before he got back vertical and attained his own brief takedown to end the round. Means looked frustrated between rounds and threw with bad intentions in the final stanza. Means hurt Magny with a huge knee to the head from the clinch before having him in trouble with a guillotine attempt. Magny recovered and got another short takedown, followed by a second which led to him getting the mount. Magny was inactive on top and saw it out to the bell. The unanimous decision went the way of Neil Magny.

Soa Palelei was next in action as he took on former EFC Africa champion Ruan Potts in the heavyweight division. Palelei immediately got the takedown inside of thirty seconds. A choke attempt from Potts briefly got him free but Palelei made his way back to the guard. Potts attacked from the bottom but Palelei worked his way into half guard and eventually the mount. And that was all she wrote. Palelei smashed Potts with a left hand from the mount and put him out cold in the very first round.

The Flyweights opened the main card with Chris Cariaso taking on Louis Smolka. This one was a slow starter with large portions of the opening round spent with Smolka blanketing his opponent against the fence without any action. An elbow from Cariaso on the break was the first shot of note in the fourth minute, it was quickly followed by a series of strikes until Smolka clinched again. As the round ended Smolka was caught in a guillotine but it was never secured fully. Cariaso started quickly in the second, crashing into Smolka with strikes before taking the back. A RNC attempt was unsuccessful, as was an armbar before they returned to the feet. A takedown from Cariaso followed by some solid ground and pound and another late guillotine attempt sealed him the round. The third was all Smolka early on as he took it to the floor and mounted Cariaso – hurting him with some solid strikes before allowing Cariaso back to his feet. Smolka engaged the clinch but Cariaso escaped and they traded hard. Leg kicks from Cariaso were the toughest weapons in an even round. The split decision went the way of Chris Cariaso.

The seven fight preliminary card was full of thrills, spills and huge knockouts the most shocking of which was Johnny Eduardo put Eddie Wineland to sleep in the first round. Check out all the rest of the results and methods below:

Matt Brown def. Erick Silva via TKO – Round 3, 2:11

Costa Philippou def. Lorenz Larkin via knockout – Round 1, 3:47

Daron Cruickshank def. Erik Koch via TKO – Round 1, 3:21

Neil Magny def. Tim Means via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)

Soa Palelei def. Ruan Potts via knockout – Round 1, 2:20

Chris Cariaso def. Louis Smolka via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

Ed Herman def. Rafael Natal via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)

Kyoji Horiguchi def. Darrell Montague via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)

Zak Cummings def. Yan Cabral via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Johnny Eduardo def. Eddie Wineland via TKO – Round 1, 4:37

Nik Lentz def. Manny Gamburyan via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Justin Salas def. Ben Wall via knockout – Round 1, 2:41

Albert Tumenov def. Anthony Lapsley via knockout – Round 1, 3:56