Another weekend of fisticuffs has come and gone, as UFC Fight Night 105 blew the roof off Scotiabank Centre last night (Sun., Feb. 19, 2017) in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
Plenty of fighters were left licking their wounds, including Hector Lombard, who suffered his third straight loss after coming up short against Johny Hendrick's in "Bigg Rigg's" 185-pound debut (see it). Also, Sam Sicilia was upset by Octagon newcomer Gavin Tucker, who kept his perfect record intact (10-0, 1-0 UFC) with an impressive showing in his first bout on the biggest stage in all of mixed martial arts (MMA).
But which fighter is suffering from the worst post-fight hangover, now just a few hours removed from the show?
Travis Browne.
Coming into the his headlining bout against Derrick Lewis, "Hapa" was looking to stop the bleeding of his back-to-back losses to former UFC Heavyweight champions Cain Velasquez and Fabricio Werdum and prolong his Octagon career.
Mission failed.
Early on, Travis seemed to be in control, connecting on various kicks to the legs and body of Lewis, which had "The Black Beast" in visible pain. In fact, he even forced the hulking brawler to fold over in agony with his kicks to the midsection.
Derrick hung in to make it to round two.
It was there that he found his mark, as he finally managed to close the distance and clip the towering heavyweight with some nasty uppercuts. After taking the fight to the ground, Lewis found himself back on the feet with "Hapa," only to clip him and send him crashing to the canvas once more. From there, it was all she wrote, as Lewis unleashed some vicious ground-and-pound to knock Browne clean out.
So where does Browne go from here? Well, unlike most combatants in other divisions, the towering heavyweight doesn't have the luxury of changing weight classes in an attempt to right the ship or look for a new beginning, as Travis is too big for Light Heavyweight and the promotion doesn't have a Super Heavyweight division.
Yet.
The only bright side -- if you can call it that -- of suffering three straight losses is that you won't be getting a top tier foe in your next outing, as Browne is sure to drop in the rankings once they are released later this week. Plus, since the division isn't exactly stacked at the moment, his spot on the roster is pretty safe.
That said, I'd like to see Travis take on Tim Johnson -- who is currently ranked No. 15 on the official rankings list. Tim is fresh off a loss to Alexander Volkov, so he is eager to pick up a victory, as well. It's a matchup that would serve both fighters well, as Tim can put himself on the map with a victory while "Hapa" can get his mojo back if he can get through a fighter who has yet to earn a high profile victory.
Got any other ideas?
