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Robbie Lawler vs. Matt Brown, and a history of MMA slugfests

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(This story appears in today’s edition of USA TODAY.)

It’s a funny how, for a sport that prides itself on the wide array of skills it requires, MMA still prizes a good old-fashioned slugfest above all else.

There’s a certain simplistic beauty to it, something brutal yet instantly relatable. As former UFC light heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell once said when discussing a possible fight with then-PRIDE FC champion Wanderlei Silva, “I think we’ll go out there and punch each other in the face until one of us falls down. It’s not that hard.”

That’s about what fight fans are expecting this Saturday night, when heavy-hitters Robbie Lawler (23-10 MMA, 8-4 UFC) and Matt Brown (19-11 MMA, 12-5 UFC) square off at UFC on Fox 12 in San Jose (Fox, 8 p.m. ET).

“Everybody gravitates toward those, because that’s what fighting is all about,” Brown tells USA TODAY Sports. “It’s two people slugging it out to see who’s tougher. That’s what people want to see.”

But if they want to add their names to the list of the sport’s best slugfests, Brown and Lawler have their work cut out for them. Here’s a look at some of the most memorable fistic battles in MMA history:

Nick Diaz vs. Paul Daley, “Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Daley,” April 9, 2011

In possibly the greatest one-round fight in MMA history, British knockout artist Paul Daley set a furious pace right away when challenging for Nick Diaz’s Strikeforce welterweight title. But after dropping his opponent with punches early on, Daley seemed to fade under the withering pressure of a resurgent Diaz in the second half of the round. With just seconds to go in the opening frame, Daley collapsed under the strain of a Diaz onslaught, bringing a halt to the bout just three seconds before the end of the first round.

Junior Dos Santos vs. Mark Hunt, UFC 160, May 25, 2013

junior-dos-santos-mark-hunt.jpgConventional wisdom tells us that there are two types of heavyweight fights in MMA: the ones that end quickly and decisively, and the ones that are long, boring slogs. Former UFC heavyweight champ Junior Dos Santos and former PRIDE standout Mark Hunt proved to be the exception to the rule in this bout, trading bombs for nearly three full rounds until a spinning heel kick from Dos Santos in the final minute finally planted the iron-chinned Hunt on the mat. For Dos Santos, the win was enough to earn him a rematch with heavyweight champ Cain Velasquez. For Hunt, it was just one more legendary brawl in a career filled with them.

Johny Hendricks vs. Robbie Lawler, UFC 171, March 15, 2014

In a battle for the UFC welterweight title vacated by long-reigning champ Georges St-Pierre, Lawler and Johny Hendricks both seemed to throw their game plans out the window right at the start, almost as if they wanted to prove that they could take it as well as they could dish it out. Hendricks wobbled Lawler. Lawler battered Hendricks. Around and around they went, until a takedown, of all things, sealed it for Hendricks in the fifth. He became the UFC’s new 170-pound champ while Lawler is still trying to slug his way into a rematch.

Chuck Liddell vs. Wanderlei Silva, UFC 79, Dec. 29, 2007

chuck-liddell-wanderlei-silva-ufc-79This light heavyweight showdown was a little past its expiration date by the time the contractual hurdles were cleared away and the face-punching could commence, but the action itself did not disappoint. Chuck Liddell was no longer UFC champ, and the PRIDE organization that Wanderlei Silva once ruled was by this point effectively dead, but the rivalry between the two promotions lived on, at least in theory, through these two. For three rounds they battered one another with punches, kicks, even a spinning backfist or two. When it was over, Liddell had earned the unanimous decision, but it was hard to say that anybody had really lost.

Wanderlei Silva vs. Brian Stann, UFC on Fuel TV 8, March 3, 2013

If you’re surprised to see Silva’s name on this list twice, it can only be because you aren’t familiar with his extensive resume. In a return to his old stomping grounds at Tokyo’s Saitama Super Arena, Silva resurrected his head-down hooking style against a Marine war hero who took his best shots and gave them right back. After a first round that saw both men hit the mat at various points, Silva scored a second-round salvo that put Brian Stann down for good. Stann would announce his retirement shortly after the bout. Plagued by controversies surrounding his avoidance of a surprise drug test before a scheduled bout in Nevada, Silva hasn’t stepped in the cage since that night.

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