Saturday night’s lone heavyweight attraction will feature rising star Travis “Hapa” Browne meets former title contender and owner of “The Kick Heard Round the World,” Gabriel “Napao” Gonzaga.
There’s perhaps a lot at stake for both men, as the heavyweight division is prime for a new challenger to step up and pose a serious threat to the top two men in the division, former champion Junior Dos Santos and current champion Cain Velasquez.
Gonzaga comes into the bout at 14-6 and the owner of a three fight win streak, two of those coming within the UFC. The former number one contender is coming off a submission victory over veteran Ben Rothwell via guillotine choke in the second round in his home country of Brazil.
One of the very best Brazilian jiu jitsu practitioners in the game, Gonzaga also possess power in both hands, as well as his kicks as evidenced by his historic knockout over Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic. That win earned Gonzaga a title shot against then champion Randy Couture, which he would go on to lose via TKO in the third round. Perhaps trying to duplicate the awe that was his victory over “Cro Cop,” Gonzaga became too reliant on his striking, ultimately suffering a loss to Brendan Schaub that led to his release from the UFC. After a win outside the octagon, Gonzaga was invited back to fight in his home country of Brazil in January of 2012, where he defeated an outmatched Ednardo Oliveira.
Since being released from the UFC, Gonzaga has gone back to his bread and butter; utilizing takedowns to get top position, where he is most dominate. Ground and pound and his submission advantage over almost every other heavy weight are the recipe for success for him and where he most certainly will look to take the fight Saturday night against Travis Browne.
Travis Browne comes into the bout at 13-1-1, although unlike his streaking counterpart Browne’s last outing was a knockout loss at the hands of current title contender Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva. Brown tore his hamstring in the opening moments of that bout planting his lead foot to throw a lead hook, leaving the athletic Hawaiian fighting one of the biggest men in the sport on one leg. Moments after the injury “Hapa” was backed against the cage where Silva landed a crushing right hand, signaling the end of his night and undefeated record.
Browne was over a 2-1 favorite going into the “Bigfoot” fight, having won all of his thirteen fights leading up to that bout except one, a draw with heavyweight staple Cheick Kongo. Silva has since gone on to shock heavy favorite Alistair Overeem, earning himself a title shot and a rematch against Cain Velasquez. Browne will look to prove that he deserved all the hype leading up to that fight, and that had he not injured himself during the opening moments the outcome would have been different.
Standing at 6’7” and 250lbs, Browne’s athleticism in beyond impressive. Long and rangy, Browne is adept at using his physical tools to his advantage, keeping opponents at his range and utilizing solid boxing and thunderous kicks and knees. From the clinch position, he is able to land powerful knee strikes as well as mix in body lock takedowns to keep his opponent guessing.
He’s also shown a pretty decent single leg takedown, a move not often utilized in MMA, but effective especially at heavyweight. Although he prefers to stand, his top position and ground and pound are effective and capable of ending a fight, as well as a decent submission game. Come Saturday night, he will most certainly look to keep the fight standing, where his length and superior athleticism and technique should give him a significant edge.
Browne comes into this fight also over a 2-1 favorite over Gonzaga. I do believe this fight boils down to who can fight where they want to fight, on the ground for Gonzaga and on the feet for Browne. In my opinion, Browne should be able to weather an early storm from Gonzaga, keeping him at a distance and avoiding takedowns. As shown in his fight against Rothwell, Gonzaga will tire should he have to work hard for takedowns, so if Browne can stuff the first few attempts it may lead to target practice in the second round for the hard hitting Hawaiian.
I don’t think Gonzaga can finish Browne by submission, or will have the gas tank to close the distance and take him down for three rounds, leading to a TKO early in the second round for “Hapa” putting him squarely back into the heavyweight title picture.