Matt Brown showed why he’s such a dangerous veteran even after two years away, stopping Ben Saunders Saturday night at UFC 245.
Opening up the televised preliminary card at UFC 245 in Las Vegas on Saturday, ‘The Immortal’ Matt Brown returned to action. After a brief retirement, popular welterweight Brown was back in the octagon against another fan favorite, Ben Saunders, at the T-Mobile Arena.
Brown was last seen flattening Diego Sanchez with an elbow in 2017. Just over two years later, it felt like he hadn’t missed a step.
Brown held center early, Saunders staying light on his feet on the outside. They’d go to the ground a minute in, Brown on top, Saunders looking comfortable off his back. He locked in a triangle, with one of Brown’s arms trapped. Early in the fight, the lack of sweat gave Saunders the advantage. He fired off some elbows to the head, but he’d lose the choke, and later tried to secure the choke on the other side, switching legs. Brown could do little more than ride it out, and add a few punches to the body.
Saunders continued to press for the choke, pulling down on his opponent’s head. Yet Brown was able to ride it out, calm under duress, until he finally slipped free with roughly a minute left in the round. Saunder’s legs had to be somewhere around the consistency of spaghetti. He likely won the round, but the next ten minutes were going to be interesting.
Round two, Brown came out strong, backing Saunders up. A high kick hurt Saunders, but he managed to reverse Brown against the fence. Failing to land a trip, Ben Saunders instead pulled guard. Using a rubber guard, he again trapped Brown. This time, however, Brown freed himself a bit earlier, which gave him an opportunity to drop a few elbows. Saunders was doing less off his back this time, and eventually the ref stood them up. When they went down again, Saunders was spent, and Brown opened up, with an elbow and punches. Saunders wasn’t defending, and soon enough, he was out.
Returning in style! 👊
After two years out, @IAmTheImmortal is back in a BIG way! #UFC245 pic.twitter.com/5K74a1Daks
— UFC (@ufc) December 15, 2019
With the stoppage, Brown moved to a tie for second place among UFC welterweights for the most knockouts in the division. A triumphant return for the still-dangerous Matt ‘The Immortal’ Brown.
Official Result: Matt Brown def. Ben Saunders by knockout, Round 2, 4:55
