UFC Results: He’s Back! Silva Beats Brunson In Tonight’s Co-Main Event

[MORE VIDEOS OF FIGHT UNDER RESULT]

Anderson “Spider” Silva made his way to the octagon in the Barclay’s Center as if he never lost his championship; The fans in attendance gave him a hero’s welcome and were excited to see how he would do against a young grinder like Derek Brunson in the co-main event of “UFC 208”.

Both Silva and Brunson were quick to meet in the middle of the octagon. Silva’s feet stuck to the center of the octagon, waiting for Brunson’s move to capitalize on a mistake. A leg kick from Brunson recorded the first strike of the fight, and it was a repeated strike that would cause trouble.

A lightning-quick counter right from Silva forced Brunson to think twice about jumping in for a shot, and it didn’t take long for Silva to push that pace. Brunson shot for a single leg which was easily stuffed, but Brunson pushed Silva up against the fence where Silva threatened knees inside the clinch. Brunson separated and both fighters made their way to the center of the octagon to repeat the feeling out process.

Inside the clinch, Brunson caught him with a few punches that didn’t stun him. Still, they were stiff punches that should have given Brunson some confidence. Silva started to gain confidence, firing off a side kick to the gut of Brunson. In the clinch, Brunson would again land a flurry of stiff punches that Silva simply ate. The round ended with Brunson in top control, looking to land some ground and pound before the horn sounded.

The second round would lose a lot of the aggression from both fighters having felt the power each other possess in the first round. A spinning backfist from Silva would errantly poke Brunson in the eye who shot for a takedown in order to recover, but Silva would get right back to his feet. Brunson shot repeatedly for a takedown afterward, and Silva stuffed every attempt thereafter in the second round. Silva turned up the pace with just thirty seconds remaining but the horn sounded before he could fire off anything wild.

Silva kicked off the final round with a stuffed takedown, bringing his total of stuffed takedowns to an unofficial nine by the time the first minute passed in the third. With just a minute and a half remaining, Brunson landed the first takedown of the fight putting Silva on his back. Trapped in Silva’s closed guard, Brunson couldn’t do much on top. Once he was able to posture up, the bell had rung.

Anderson Silva def. Derek Brunson by way of Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)