UFC's Steven Siler credits Manny Gamburyan for shocking knockout of Mike Brown

In the days, weeks and months leading up to this past Saturday night’s UFC Fight Night 26, featherweight Steven Siler (23-10 MMA, 5-1 UFC) dreamed of defeating Mike Brown (26-9 MMA, 2-4 UFC) for the most important victory of his MMA career.

But of all the times he envisioned getting his hand raised against the former WEC champion, the least likely scenario to run through his mind was a knockout – and one in a mere 50 seconds, no less.

“It was one of the best 50 seconds of my life,” Siler told MMAjunkie.com Radio (www.mmajunkie.com/radio) of his knockout win over Brown in Boston. “I’ve had 30-something fights, and I’ve only had one knockout in my career, so I imagined winning but I imagined going to a decision or me submitting him. I never thought of me actually landing a punch and knocking him out.”

Prior to UFC Fight Night 26, Siler had only earned two of his 22 professional victories by knockout, the last of which came nearly six years ago in August 2007.

The 26-year-old didn’t have the strategy of inflicting major damage with one of the first strikes of the fight, but when one of Brown’s former opponents, Manny Gamburyan – who also fought at the event and shared a locker room with Siler – told him about a potential tendency in Brown’s style that could lead to a knockout, he took full advantage of the advice.

“Before the fight I was in the locker room with Manny Gamburyan and he knocked Mike Brown out with an uppercut, as well, and he was telling me, ‘Come in hard with that right; he’s going to lean this way,’” Siler said. “That’s exactly what I did, and I was able to connect with the punch.”

Defeating Brown in highlight-reel fashion was a monumental moment for Siler’s career and one that put him on the radar when discussing the top featherweight fighters in the world.

“Super” opened his UFC stint on a three-fight win streak that was snapped at UFC 154 this past November with a decision loss to gritty 145-pound contender Darren Elkins.

That loss is the lone blemish on Siler’s UFC record, and while he isn’t trying to make excuses as to why he was defeated, the Californian admits he wasn’t enjoying himself prior to that fight, and it led to a flat performance inside the octagon.

“That Elkins fight, that wasn’t me; it was an off day for sure,” Siler said. “I need to enjoy myself, and when I was up in Canada, I didn’t have anyone with me. It was just me and my coach, and we were just sitting there being boring the whole time and I did not have any fun at all. Even going into the arena, I wasn’t enjoying myself. It was just an off night, and ever since then I have family, friends and a bunch of people come out with me so I can enjoy the town.”

Nevertheless, Siler made the proper adjustments in order to deliver the goods in his most recent fight and has now come out on top in five of his six career UFC appearances. Siler believes the stunning nature of his victory turned heads and by becoming the first man to knock Brown out in UFC competition, he’s brought attention to himself that will only benefit his career moving forward.

“I really do believe I shocked a lot of people, including myself,” Siler said. “Like I said, I never expected to knock anyone out, let alone a former champion out, so I was shocked.”

For complete coverage of UFC Fight Night 26, stay tuned to the UFC Events section of the site.

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