BROOMFIELD, Colo. – John Howard and Brendan Schaub just matched brutal finishes in what are probably going to be the two strongest candidates for the UFC’s bonus, knockout of the night. It took Schaub just 47 seconds to turn in his spectacular finish but it was Howard who put a bigger hurting on his opponent.
UPDATE: Howard did receive one of the three $50,000 KO of the night bonuses. Schaub was passed over for Junior Dos Santos and Jon Jones.
Howard may struggle a bit with ground artists but he possesses one
thing all fighters thirst for — finishing power. Daniel Roberts was
doing a nice job of outgrappling Howard in the early going but made one mistake and it
cost him. After struggling on the bottom for the first 90 seconds of
the fight, Howard finally gained top control. Roberts tried to kick off
Howard but whiffed and the Bostonian responded with a thudding left. It
appeared to knock Roberts stiff. Referee Tom Johnson was slow to jump
in and Howard landed two more huge lefts before the stoppage.
"He
was waiting for me to pass and I saw his face open," Howard told
UFC.com. "My left hook, it’s my baby and boom. Hit him in the chin, he
was out. I just going until the ref pulled me off."
After a long delay, Howard finally spoke with UFC analyst Joe
Rogan, as Roberts was still being tended to in the cage. It was still
another four minutes after everyone left the Octagon that Roberts got
to his feet and walked back to the locker rooms. He still had a dazed
look on his face and was assisted by two people as he walked gingerly.
Schaub fell short in the Season 10 finale of "The Ultimate Fighter" so he definitely had a point to prove fighting in front of the hometown fans. Any questions about his status as a prospect were answered quickly against fellow prospect Chase Gormley. Schaub, giving away a little size at 6-feet-4, 245 pounds, gave Gormley zero breathing room from the get go. He stormed across the cage and let his hands go. Schaub got off dozens of punches and it seemed like he landed all of them. The final flurry started with a upper cut as Schaub held Gormley’s head. Then a right floored the big guy. Five more shots on the ground and referee Adam Martinez jumped in to stop at 0:47 of the first.
"I felt like I needed to jump on him early. He’s a grinder," the 27-year-old Schaub told UFC.com. "He’s won three or four fights by decision. That’s not my style. I will never go to decision. When I saw that he was hurt, I just stayed on him."
Schaub, a former fullback at Colorado, and a native of nearby Aurora wasn’t going to lose in front of his friends and family.
"I didn’t matter who Dana White and [matchmaker] Joe Silva matched me up with. My hometown in Denver, wow that’s a lot to handle. I was coming firing on all cylinders. I know I’e got the power in my hands. I feel like I can compete with anyone in the world."
Schaub tried to fight in a more calculated fashion against Roy Nelson in that TUF 10 Finale and paid for it when he got caught with a punch behind the right ear. He didn’t make that mistake on this night. It’s clear his work with top heavyweight Shane Carwin is paying off. It didn’t appear Schaub was giving away anything in the strength department against Gormley, who’s walk around weight is 290.