FanPost

Johny Hendricks vs. Matt Brown - Who Wins?

Written by @NickRiznerMMA

In the early days, it used to be about toughness.

While mental fortitude still plays a major role in the success of an individual, razor-sharp technique and a diverse skillset seem to have replaced raw power and a strong will in the today’s world of professional mixed martial arts.

This is especially true at the elite level. The best brawlers of days past would still find some success on the present day UFC roster. They would likely win most of their fights and earn a ton of fans in the process. Surely, they would be placed on pay-per-view main cards and get invited to press conferences around the world. Their style would probably earn them plenty of post-fight bonuses and raise the ratings on whatever cards they got placed on. But when they finally reached the pinnacle of the sport and thrust themselves into the title picture, they would come up short, time and time again.

Why? Because the sport has evolved. This is the natural order of things.

Matt Brown is one of these aforementioned brawlers. He is among a dying breed of fighters and may, in fact, be the last of which to ever climb so high. This descriptor is in no way meant to disparage Matt Brown’s talent. The days of fighters getting by on toughness, alone, are no more. The one thought repeatedly expressed by recently retired MMA veterans is that the sport has progressed past them; that they can no longer hang with the young guys.

Part of this is the inevitable effects of aging. Part of this is the evolution of the sport, itself. Either way, the mere fact that Matt Brown remains at the top tier of the UFC Welterweight division serves as proof that he is more than some tough guy. His clinch game is phenomenal, with knees and elbows coming from unorthodox angles to find gaps in his opponents guard. His pace is relentless and his conditioning ensures that he can keep it up without slowing throughout the fight. He’s got a ton of power in his hands, as well.

It’s not all rainbows and sunshine, however. He tends to overreach with some of his looping hooks. This flaw doesn’t cause him much harm against lesser opponents, but could leave him vulnerable against next-level strikers. He’s also shown some holes in his ground game in the past, losing 9 out of his 12 fights via submission. Although, to say he’s the same fighter that he was when he got guillotined by Seth Baczynski back in 2011 would be selective ignorance at best and downright stupidity at worst.

No matter. The submission game shouldn’t play much of a factor on Saturday night anyway. Johny Hendricks can wrestle with the best of ‘em, but boxing and ground-and-pound seem to be his forte. I wouldn’t expect to see many submission attempts from either guy, assuming no one makes a major mistake on the ground.

Realistically, this one will likely remain standing. Matt Brown’s striking is no scarier than Robbie Lawler and Hendricks seemed all too comfortable going toe-to-toe for ten rounds with the latter. With the exception of a unanimous decision loss to Rick Story back in 2010, Johny Hendricks is virtually undefeated as a pro. His recent losses came via split decision to Georges St-Pierre and Robbie Lawler, and whether or not you feel Hendricks should’ve gotten his hand raised in those fights, there’s simply no arguing that they weren’t close.

Matt Brown is good. Hell, he’s really good. But Hendricks is simply a cut above. I expect this one to look a lot like Lawler vs. Brown. Brown is tough enough to survive three rounds with the former champ, but I see Hendricks grinding out the decision in this one.

Winner: Johny Hendricks via decision