When Tarec Saffiedine went down to injury, that was bad news for fight fans. He was slated to take on Matt Brown in the headliner for UFC Fight Night Broomfield, on February 14th. Still, I don’t think anyone expected the injury to cause as much upheaval as it has. WW is one of the UFC’s deepest division, with nearly 100 fighter signed to their roster at 170lbs, it seemed to be the expected thing that Matt Brown would stay on the card with a new fighter to face him.
Instead, Fox Sports reports that Matt Brown has been removed from the Fight Night card, and moved to a PPV bout, against Johny Hendricks at UFC 185 on March 14th. Not only does this re-organize the UFC’s upcoming card in Broomfield, but it also throws the 170lb title picture into something similar to disarray. Initially it was expect that Rory MacDonald would get the title shot, but he appeared to be bumped form the picture for a Hendricks rematch with Lawler. Now that rematch appears to have been delayed, and with MacDonald booked to fight Hector Lombard, we’re getting Matt Brown against Hendricks. It’s a great fight, but a fight very few fans saw coming.
Matt Brown will enter the bout fresh off a loss to Robbie Lawler in July of 2014. It was a title eliminator that went all five rounds to a unanimous decision, breaking a 7 fight win streak for Brown. This will be Brown’s second career fight against a former UFC title contender or champion. Hendricks enters off a loss to Lawler as well. His decision was much more contested, the second of a pair of close run battles for the UFC title, and one that cost him his claim to the belt. It will be interesting to see which among Brown, Hendricks, MacDonald, and Lombard emerges with the best claim to a shot at Robbie Lawler and the welterweight title.
In place of Brown vs. Saffiedine, Brandon Thatch vs. Stephen Thompson will be the new event for UFC Fight Night Broomfield.
UFC 185 takes place on March 14th in Dallas, Texas. Here’s a look at the card so far:
Anthony Pettis vs. Rafael dos Anjos
Johny Hendricks vs. Matt Brown
Roy Nelson vs. Alistair Overeem
Chris Cariaso vs. Henry Cejudo
Sergio Pettis vs. Ryan Benoit