Matt Brown stops Erick Silva in 'Fight of the Year' performance

By Damon Martin
Updated Mar. 4, 2020 8:29 p.m. ET

CINCINNATI, OH --  If Matt Brown eventually earns a welterweight title shot in the UFC, his 'Fight of the Year' performance against Erick Silva might be the moment most remembered on his path to greatness.

In what will surely be remembered as one of the single greatest rounds in MMA history, Brown and Silva battled back and forth in a war of attrition as each tried to finish the other before the first horn sounded.

Silva got the upper hand early with a body kick that dropped Brown to the mat, much to the dismay of his hometown crowd in Cincinnati.  Silva looked to follow up with a ground attack while searching for a rear naked choke finish, but Brown recovered and found an escape to get back to his feet.

Once he stood up, Brown came after Silva with reckless abandon just battering the Brazilian with elbows, knees and punches likely coming back and earning the round, not that it mattered in the long run.

The second round was more of the same as Brown hit Silva with everything in his arsenal both of the feet and on the ground.  Miraculously, Silva found a way to survive although he was on wobbly legs throughout.

Following two incredible rounds of action, Brown and Silva met in the middle of the Octagon for the third session, but it would go no further. Brown continued his onslaught and eventually took Silva down to the mat where he pounded Silva with strikes until referee Herb Dean finally stopped the carnage.

The win marked Brown's seventh in a row overall as he took a dramatic step forward in the UFC welterweight title picture.  It didn't take the Ohio native long to remind the UFC where he currently stands with the longest win streak in the division currently.

"Cincinnati, OH, who do you want to see fight for a title next?" Brown asked as the crowed roared unanimously in his favor.

While it's unclear whether Brown will actually get closer to a crack at champion Johny Hendricks, with a performance like he had on Saturday night it's hard not to imagine that he's not going to enter that conversation.