Tag Archives: Travis Browne

UFC Fight Night 105: Derrick Lewis vs. Travis Browne Odds and Prediction

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UFC Top 10 heavyweights Derrick Lewis and Travis Browne collide at UFC Fight Night 105 on February 19, 2017 in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada with the winner moving on to greener pastures and the loser moving down the heavyweight ladder.

New Main Event

Brown and Lewis were set to square off at UFC 208 on February 11 in Brooklyn but after the Halifax event lost its main event of Dos Santos vs Struve following Struve’s injury, the heavyweight showdown between Hapa and the Black Beast was moved to the promotion’s next event as its headliner. The move speaks a lot about the promise of Lewis and the drawing power of Browne, who is more popularly known as Ronda Rousey’s boyfriend.

Black Beast

Derrick Lewis isn’t the Black Beast for nothing. He’s recorded a knockout in all but two of his 17 wins. He’s lost four times though, two by KO but has won five bouts in a row, four of them by knockout via punches. The only opponent he didn’t knockout during this run was Roy Nelson and we know Big Country has the best chin in the business. Lewis has tremendous power in his punches and that’s his main weapon. What impressed us with Lewis is how he’s improved the other facets of his game lately. In his most recent bout against sambo master Shamil Abdurakhimov, Lewis came from behind to win by stoppage.

Something’s Not Right

Travis Browne is one of the best strikers in the UFC’s heavyweight division. We saw a lot of that in 2013 when Browne was at his finest, beating Gabriel Gonzaga, Alistair Overeem and Josh Barnett in succession and by stoppages. But something’s not right with Hapa lately. His striking has been off as he was dominated by both Fabricio Werdum and Cain Velasquez in his last two bouts.  If you take away Browne’s striking, then he is just a mediocre fighter on the ground. Nothing special with his wrestling or grappling skills really.

Even Fight

This is one of those pick’em fights. Lewis is a -137.50 favorite while Browne is a slight  +110 underdog. In the UFC’s heavyweight division, one doesn’t really have to be well rounded to win. You just have to have the power. Now both these fighters have that game changing power, just that Lewis may have more. But Travis Browne is the more dynamic striker and the quicker one on his feet. What should play an important factor in this fight is the current streak of each fighter. Brown has lost four of six bouts and has dropped to #9 in the rankings. Lewis meanwhile has won five in a row and has risen one spot above Hapa at #8. We’ll play the streaks here and bank on Lewis’ power. We’re predicting that Derrick Lewis knocks out Travis Browne.

UFC 203: Travis Browne vs. Fabricio Werdum Meeting Coming

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Fabricio Werdum’s UFC Heavyweight title run began with a 2014 victory over Travis Browne at UFC on Fox 11. Werdum’s 50-45, 50-45 and 49-46 unanimous decision win led to an interim title bout against Mark Hunt at UFC 180 and then to a unification match against Cain Velasquez at UFC 188.

Travis Browne knows that had he won that bout, it could have very well been his own title run. Now Browne has the chance to get that one back and get back to the title picture as well.

Stepping In On Short Notice

Ben Rothwell, Werdum’s original opponent for UFC 203, pulled out of the bout on Thursday with a knee injury. Insiders are saying Big Ben tore a meniscus and may have suffered an ACL injury. With that development, the UFC scrambled to look for a replacement foe. Multiple sources are confirming that Travis Browne has verbally agreed to step in on short notice and that Werdum himself has given the thumbs up for the rematch to happen.

Given all this, an official announcement is expected shortly.

Browne has gone 2-2 since his loss to Werdum in 2014. Most recently, Hapa suffered a first round KO loss to former champion Cain Velasquez at UFC 200. On the other hand, Werdum is coming off a first round knockout loss himself. Vai Cavalo was knocked out by current UFC Heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic at UFC 198 in Werdum’s own backyard in Brazil.

Werdum was calling for an immediate rematch. However, the UFC gave the first crack at Miocic to 4th ranked Alistair Overeem. The pair will fight for the UFC Heavyweight title at the main event of UFC 203.

Getting Back To The Title Picture

For Travis Browne, the opportunity to fight Werdum on less than 30 days notice could be a blessing in disguise. As we said, not only will he have the opportunity to get revenge, he will have the chance to shoot right back in the title picture with a victory. Werdum is currently ranked as the Top contender while Browne is at #7. But despite his recent skid, Hapa could vault right back in the Top 5 if he wins.

While Miocic is the champ, the UFC’s Heavyweight division has become a wider field. In the past, it was just dominated by Cain Velasquez and Junior Dos Santos. But because most ( if not all ) of the contenders have punching power, nobody can be counted out. That can be well said about Travis Browne who has 14 KOs in 18 wins. If he can seize this opportunity, he has a shot at finally nailing that elusive title shot.