LAS VEGAS – Erick Silva is known for wild, explosive attacks. But against Nordine Taleb, he was forced to have a chess match.
As it turned out, that type of bout drastically favored Taleb (12-3 MMA, 4-1 UFC), who made Silva (18-7 MMA, 6-6 UFC) pay for his aggression in the second round.
The welterweight bout was part of the preliminary card of today’s UFC 196 event at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. It aired on FOX Sports 1 following additional prelims on UFC Fight Pass and ahead of a main card on pay-per-view.
The bout was called off at the 1:34 mark of the second frame after Taleb knocked Silva to the canvas with a right hand and then finished the job with more punches, putting the Bellator vet back in the win column after a submission loss to Warlley Alves in his previous outing. Silva continues to struggle in the UFC’s octagon, now dropping two straight and going 2-3 in his past five outings.
Silva reportedly moved to Southern California King’s MMA prior to the fight and initially waged a more conservative attack. Against Taleb, however, he was picked apart by pinpoint kicks and forced to walk into a powerful left hook.
A stutter-step from Taleb indicated an injury to the Tristar fighter before he shook his leg out and continued his business.
Silva was moving forward and attempting to land a kick when Taleb intercepted the strike and replied with the punch that sent him to the mat. On a card with three other knockout finishes, Taleb’s work undoubtedly is a contender for a performance bonus.
Up-to-the-minute UFC 196 results include:
For complete coverage of UFC 196, check out the UFC Events section of the site.
(MMAjunkie’s John Morgan and Matt Erickson contributed to this report http://mmajunkie.com/20
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