2. Matt Brown vs. Erick Silva
UFC Fight Night 40
May 10, 2014 | Cincinnati
Brown persevered in a fight of near unimaginable quality. The man known as “The Immortal” stopped former Jungle Fight champion Silva with standing-to-ground punches in the third round of their UFC Fight Night 40 main event at the U.S. Bank Arena. Having absorbed untold amounts of punishment, Silva finally wilted 2:11 into Round 3.

Brown shook off a pair of horrific body blows from the Brazilian -- the first one a kick, the second a punch -- that had him doubled over in obvious distress. Silva also had him in danger on the ground, scoring with a first-round takedown before transitioning to the Ohioan’s back and going to work on a rear-naked choke. Brown escaped to stage a dramatic comeback, slashing away with a series of vicious standing elbows. Punches, knees and more elbows flew next, forcing Silva to retreat to the canvas. Brown met him there with a ruthless standing kick to the body. In the second round, “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 7 quarterfinalist greeted Silva with a takedown before moving to full mount. Brown then softened him with punches before surrendering his position with an attempted armbar and triangle choke.

Silva had little left in the tank by the time Round 3 arrived. Brown scored with a takedown inside the first minute and tore into him with ground-and-pound, opening a cut near his left eye with a clean elbow to the head. One final salvo of standing-to-ground punches led referee Herb Dean to intercede on Silva’s behalf.

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