CINCINNATI, Ohio -- Fighting in his home state for the first time in nearly five years, Matt Brown (19-11) delivered a thrilling performances with a third-round stoppage of Brazilian import Erick Silva (16-5). The bout served as the headlining matchup of Saturdays "UFC Fight Night: Brown vs. Silva" event, which took place at U.S. Bank Arena in Cincinnati. It was Silva who looked well on his way to victory in the early going, delivering a pair of crushing kicks to the body that sent Brown crashing to the floor, doubled over in pain. But as Silva swarmed for the finish, first with strikes and then with a choke attempt, Brown somehow gutted through the onslaught and worked back to his feet. From there, it was a matter of time. Brown shook off the pain and returned fire with punches, kicks and elbows from all angles. To his credit, Silva survived the onslaught for the remainder of the first round, not to mention the entirety of the second frame, as well. Silva showed occasional signs of a comeback, as every body shot caused Brown to momentarily wince. But Browns momentum was too great and his pressure too relentless. Early in the third round, he sent Silva crashing to the floor, and after avoiding a desperation submission attempt, postured up and unleashed a furious flurry of strikes that forced referee Herb Dean to call off the bout at the 2:11 mark of the frame. Afterward, a humble Brown was typically ho-hum in regards to the "Fight of the Year" effort. "I just do what I do," Brown said. "Its my first main event in my home state. The pressure got to me a little bit. Once I settled down, I got going. "My power wasnt really there today; maybe hes that tough. When I usually hit people with those punches, they go down. He kept fighting." In the nights co-feature, Constantinos Philippou picked up a much-needed win with a thunderous first-round finish of Lorenz Larkin. The two strikers were trading bombs on the feet from the start. Philippou was firing heavy leather with his crisp boxing, while Larkin answered in kind while also missing in snapping kick to the legs. But as Philippou closed the range, he nullified some of Larkins tools, and thats when he unleashed his biggest shots. A left hand wobbled Larkin, and a right hand put him out cold at the 3:47 mark, snapping a disappointing two-fight losing streak for Philippou. "It was a big win for me," Philippou said. "It followed two very disappointing losses. Before my last fight, I wasnt sure if I wanted to keep fighting, and it showed. I looked awful. But the UFC called and gave me another shot." Lightweight striker Daron Cruickshank (15-4) scored a first-round finish of Erik Koch (14-4). It was Koch who held the centre of the cage and looked to use his range to pick apart his opponents legs. Unfortunately for Koch, Cruickshank walked through the blows and delivered a stunning left high kick that sent his opponent toppling to the canvas. Cruickshank immediately pounced with a non-stop barrage of punches and elbows that forced a merciful stop at the 3:21 mark of the first. "Its a great night for me," Cruickshank said after the win. "I showed up. When I show up, I can beat anyone. I know I belong among the best in my division, and I think I proved that tonight." In a battle of rangy welterweights, Neil Magny (10-3) started quickly then survived some late trouble to battle back for a hard-fought decision win over Tim Means (20-6-1). As two of the taller fighters in the division, both struggled to settle into a comfortable range. The back-and-forth action left the fight hanging in the balance in the final frame. Means started strong, hurting Magny with an early barrage of knees. But Magny survived the onslaught and battled back to score a takedown, stifling his opponent for the remainder of the round and edging out Means for a decision win with scores of 30-27, 29-28 and 29-28. "Having to adjust to a guy who is as long or longer than me was an adjustment for me," Magny said. "Hes a hard guy to find a training partner for, difficult to imitate, but Im happy with the win. It just puts me in place to keep climbing." In heavyweight action, Australian Soa "The Hulk" Palelei (21-3) ran his winning streak to 11 fights with a crushing first-round defeat of South African UFC newcomer Ruan "Fangzz" Potts (8-2). While Potts was considered the superior grappler, Palelei took him to the floor in the early going and quickly moved to mount, where a perfectly placed left hand put his opponent to sleep at the 2:20 mark of the first round. "I think the hard work and my good coaches have helped," Palelei said. "Relentless training is the key. Ive been working hard and want to prove to everyone that I belong in the UFC." In the nights first main-card matchup, flyweight Chris Cariaso (17-5) handed highly-touted prospect Louis Smolka (7-1) his first career defeat. While Cariaso was the smaller man in the cage, his aggressive attacks throughout the bout, coupled with a strong submission game that saw him threaten to finish the fight on a few occasions, were enough to earn him a hard-fought split-decision win. "I was looking for submissions all the time," Cariaso said after the win. "When guys get low, they get susceptible to submissions, so I tried for them. "We expected him to come forward right away, which is exactly what he did, so the fight went according to plan." Cheap Panthers Jerseys Authentic . - Olympic champion Marielle Thompson accomplished her mission of defending her skicross World Cup title at Nakiska Ski Area on Saturday. Brian Burns Jersey . For the Blue Jays the time was Wednesday and the ace was R.A. Dickey. He stepped up. "I feel some responsibility as a stopper from time to time," said Dickey. http://www.cheapcarolinapanthersjerseysa...mills-jersey.35 million, avoiding arbitration. Davis led the majors last season with 53 home runs and 138 RBIs, both career highs. He earned $3. Cam Newton Jersey . The whole deflation of New England Patriots footballs is like a murder mystery without the violence or significance. On one side, this is a ridiculous issue. Greg Little Jersey . -- The Florida Gators are first yet again this season.SUNRISE, Fla. – It took only a day for James van Riemsdyk to get his mind back to hockey. The Maple Leafs winger was in the driveway of his New Jersey home on the second day of the NHLs three-day Christmas stopover, shooting pucks on the driveway with his two younger brothers. Maybe for the first couple days you let your mind relax, but then at that point you start thinking about okay Ive got to be ready to go for the next game, said van Riemsdyk ahead of the clubs return to game action on Sunday in a matinee against the Panthers. Its kind of snapping back to reality, added head coach Randy Carlyle. They had some time with their family and they had a Christmas holiday, but now its time to go back to work. And if you look at the schedule and you look at the work that were going to have in front of us we better be ready. We have to be sharp mentally and thats really what were trying to do. The Leafs are about to enter their most difficult portion of the schedule, a road-heavy stretch that sees the club play 14 of the next 18 away from the comfy confines of the ACC. That stretch starts Sunday with a chaotic run of five games in seven nights in destinations ranging from sunny Florida to chilly Winnipeg. Toronto has played the most home games in the league thus far (tied with Detroit), taking full advantage with a league-leading 14 wins – also just behind the likes of Montreal, Tampa, and Detroit in the Atlantic division. But they have found that success with increasingly shaky fundamentals, looking more and more like the group that scored a boatload of goals while standing on the shoulders of two overworked goaltenders last year. Their possession numbers have predictably tumbled, better than only the Sabres and Blue Jackets in the past 16 games. Carlyle put his team through a detail-oriented 90-minute practice Saturday afternoon with that in mind.dddddddddddd He worked the whiteboard, shouted out instructions, took questions and answers from the group during strategy sessions and skated players some after three straight days off the ice. All of it with the hope of shaping a flawed product. The Leafs gave up more shots than anyone last year and theyre not far off from fulfilling that pace once again this season. Only Buffalo has given up more shots on average than Toronto, including a 43-shot barrage in Dallas just before the break. It was the fourth time in 10 games that the club allowed 40 shots or more and ninth time in 35 games this season. As they have done so many times in recent memory, the Leafs survived on the strength of Jonathan Bernier – who earned his second shutout of the year – and a gaudy offence that scores more than any team in the league. We were loose and Bernie was called upon far, far too many times, Carlyle said of the 4-0 win over the Stars. That was the message [today]: we cannot continue to accept whats going on out there in the defensive zone. Eventually the goaltending crumbles under the weight of such a burden, as it did during a three-game losing skid that preceded the teams win in Dallas. Can the Leafs change course? Can they find a way to consistently implement the robotic structure theyve displayed only intermittently this season? Or will this remain a group that is flawed in its foundations, able to win only on the strength of a powerful offence and fine goaltending? Carlyle continues to hunt for a change in course. Can he and a revamped coaching staff succeed in doing so where last years group failed? That will be the question. 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