UFC-Tonight-logoOn this week’s UFC TONIGHT, Kenny Florian and Chael Sonnen break down UFC FIGHT NIGHT: BROWN VS. SILVA and they interview Matt Brown and UFC President Dana White. Plus, Karyn Bryant and Ariel Helwani add reports.

UFC TONIGHT Analyst Chael Sonnen on UFC FIGHT NIGHT: BROWN VS. SILVA:“I think Erick Silva is more talented than Matt Brown. When you talk about it in martial arts terms, I believe Silva’s black belt is blacker than Brown’s, but I don’t know that momentum and toughness favor Silva. I think those are in Brown’s wheelhouse.”

UFC TONIGHT Analyst Kenny Florian on Brown vs. Silva: “We haven’t seen Erick Silva in a five-round fight before. We’ve seen him gas in fights. We know Matt Brown isn’t going to gas. He’s proven his heart time and time again. However, Silva has turned over a new leaf and after his fight against Dong Hyun Kim, he is in the gym every day, working on his wrestling and conditioning. I think this is a potential Fight of the Year candidate.”

Sonnen on Brown’s keys to victory: “His keys are he needs to stop the takedown. He needs to be the aggressor and he needs to land the big shots.”

Florian on Erick Silva’s keys to victory: “He’s got to have good footwork and hit the angles. He has to land the takedown and get on top of Brown. And he has to pace himself. Matt will be conditioned, so he has to be ready for that.”

Matt Brown on if Erick Silva deserves to fight him in the main card: “Absolutely, he puts on some exciting fights and brings a lot to the table. He’s really athletic. He can finish guys in crazy fashions. It’s going make for an exciting fight.”

Brown on if he’s been lucky on his six-fight win streak: “There ain’t no luck in this sport. You know how hard I’ve worked to make my right hand work? Plus, I started wrestling in these past years. I never did in my life. Not only does it help you with your confidence with the takedown, and my foundation, my base and my overall strength has improved with working with these wrestlers.”

Brown on what his secret has been during the win streak: “There’s no secret. I stayed on the grind. I kept working hard every day. I stayed in the gym. I didn’t let it get me down. I didn’t let it slow me down. I stayed true to who I am. If you work hard enough, the good things are going to happen to you, whether it’s success in the Octagon or out of it.”

UFC President Dana White on Brown vs. Silva: “Matt Brown is ranked No. 7 and has been looking for respect for forever now. The guy has destroyed everybody he’s fought. He feels like he’s been disrespected for so long. He’s done so much and should have an opportunity to fight for the title soon. And Erick Silva, who’s ranked 14th, I think there’s no way he’s 14th. In Vegas, the odds have Erick Silva a 2-1 favorite. It’s driving Matt Brown crazy. He says he’s going to knock him out, like everyone else, and is going to finally get his respect.”

White on the Larkin vs. Philippou: “Larkin is tough guy. He’s been around a long time. He’s another guy, with a great performance, who could earn some respect. I think this is going to be an absolute standup war and somebody is getting knocked out.”

White on his sleeper fight on the card: “I love the Koch vs. Cruickshank fight. Both guys are coming off of impressive wins. I think that fight will be an absolute war.”

White on fighters getting dropped from the rankings: “Everyone is talking about Nate Diaz being removed and so has TJ Grant, for inactivity. Early on we let Dominick Cruz hold the title for as long as we did. But it’s unfair for the guys who are staying active. When you have a guy like TJ Grant and they have an injury, that’s pretty serious so they get dropped, but when they come back, they’ll get added back. The same for Diaz – he’s not taking any fights and we’re not sure when he will. When he comes back, he’ll be ranked again.”

Sonnen on Costas Philippou vs. Lorenz Larkin: “Costas has moved camps and is working on his striking and that helps him here. He’ll need his hands ready against Larkin. Larkin is good and very underrated. He’s explosive and is a good kick boxer. He’s short for the weight class, but he’s tough to get under and he’s powerful. He’s very hungry.”

Anderson Silva on his recovery and throwing his first kick: “My doctor said: ‘You crazy!’ I say, ‘Yeah, I’m a little crazy.’ But my doctor said: ‘It’s ok. You’re ready for kick, no problem. You’re ready for bag, when you’re ready, you’re back.’ I’ll be back next year.”

Stefan Struve on his heart condition and return: “I was missing about 30-40 percent oxygen rich blood with every heartbeat, so my heart had to work a lot harder than it was supposed to. With blood pressure medication, they were able to get the chamber smaller again and the opening got smaller and the leak got smaller. My heart is better and I’m in the best shape ever. I feel amazing. I have energy for days.”

Insider Ariel Helwani on Junior dos Santos’ recent injury: “JDS is out of his fight with Stipe Miocic. He broke his left hand last Thursday. He had an MRI done and was hoping to still fight. They told him to monitor it to see if the swelling goes down. It didn’t. He was told to immobilize his hand for four weeks to heal. He doesn’t need surgery and he hopes to return sooner than later.”

Helwani with an update on TJ Grant being pulled from the UFC rankings: “The rankings have been a hot topic recently and I spoke to TJ Grant, who was dropped from them. He says he has no hard feelings about being pulled from the rankings. He said he still doesn’t feel 100%. He’d love to fight in Halifax in October, but he can’t say for certain he’ll even fight this year.”

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