7 Takeaways From UFC 213
2. Travis Browne Needs To Call It A Day
Father time has never taken a loss, and the drop off for Travis Browne has been remarkable. With six performance bonuses to his name in UFC, he was always among the best heavyweights in the promotion. But now, it's a different story altogether.
Browne is a miserable 2-6 since the start of 2014, and has been finished four times in that run. Saturday's loss to Aleksei Oleinik capped off a miserable 12 months, with four straight losses. Cain Velasquez demolished him at UFC 200. Fabricio Werdum defeated him in a lopsided decision where Werdum didn't look particularly sharp himself. Then Derrick Lewis knocked him out in an admittedly entertaining bout.
But the Oleinik loss was something completely different. The Ukrainian is a submission master, but doesn't have a lot to offer on the feet. When Browne wobbled him early, it looked like he was set for a bounce back. But Oleinik was able to recover, and then get a knockdown of his own. From there, there was only one winner.
Browne showed nothing after the knockdown. His ground game has definitely improved in recent years, but Oleinik wrapped him up like a Christmas present in the second round, eventually submitting him with a rear naked choke.
34 isn't particularly old, especially for a heavyweight. But Browne looks a shadow of his former self. And it's only going to get worse from here.