On Saturday night, in the co-main event of the UFC’s action packed stop in Norfolk, Virginia, long-time UFC welterweight star Matt Brown stepped into the cage for what was expected to be the final fight of his career. His opponent in this potential swan song was Diego Sanchez, a veteran fighter of a similar vintage.
Brown, who towered over the former lightweight Sanchez, won this fight with apparent ease, crushing Sanchez with a violent, first-round elbow (see that below).
WHAT AN ELBOW! Matt Brown KO’s Diego Sanchez for the finish at #UFCNorfolk! https://t.co/i7MIUI1rXE
— FOX Sports: UFC (@UFCONFOX) November 12, 2017
Unfortunately, many onlookers missed Brown’s brutal stoppage of Sanchez, as the Fox Sports 1 broadcast briefly glitched out at the moment of impact.
All the same, Brown’s win was a thrilling one, and it generated quite a bit of excitement from the MMA community. See some of the best reactions below:
OHHHHH MYYYYYYYYY @IAmTheImmortal!!!!
UNREAL ELBOW!!! #UFCNorfolk
— UFC (@ufc) November 12, 2017
Fuck yeah great beautiful win by Matt Brown!!
— James Vick (@JamesVickMMA) November 12, 2017
Did anyone else’s broadcast go a little cuckoo right at the finish???
— Brad Tavares (@BradTavares) November 12, 2017
Kinda glad I didn’t have to see that 🙏🏽 Congrats to Matt Brown on a great career #UFCNorfolk
— Cub Swanson (@CubSwanson) November 12, 2017
That immortal elbow will give me nightmares tonight
— Tony Martin (@tmartinmma) November 12, 2017
What just happened? Sanchez gets flattened but as it happens screen splits then they rewind, then go to commercial
— Sarah Kaufman (@mmasarah) November 12, 2017
Show me the fucken ELBOW 😡😡😡 #UFCNorfolk
— Dan Hangman Hooker (@danthehangman) November 12, 2017
Matt Brown will fight again, it’s a tale as old as time. Guy wants to walk away and then has awesome performance and he stays. Perfect ending Matt, I’d say walk away. You have talked of retirement so it’s too late to stay Brother.
— Daniel Cormier (@dc_mma) November 12, 2017
With this jarring knockout of Diego Sanchez, Matt Brown rebounded from three-straight losses: a submission to Demian Maia, and knockouts dealt by Jake Ellenberger and Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone.
Do you think it’s time for Matt Brown to retire? How about Diego Sanchez?
This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 12/11/2017.