Matt Brown Face Plants Diego Sanchez with Vicious Elbow Strike Knockout

Back in September, Matt Brown said that his fight against Diego Sanchez would be his final walk to the Octagon after a career built on jaw-dropping performances in the UFC.

In the days leading up to the fight, Brown walked back his retirement talk just a bit but if he decides to call it a career after Saturday night, he went out on a high spot after landing a vicious elbow strike to finish Sanchez in the co-main event from Virginia.

As soon as the fighters were released from the corners, Sanchez rushed forward looking for a takedown but Brown defended very well while working his way free from being backed against the cage.

Sanchez continued to press for the takedown but he just couldn’t get Brown to the ground as the Ohio native continuously slipped away from his grappling attempts before resetting with his striking attacks.

While both fighters were throwing heavy shots, it was Sanchez who cracked Brown with a nasty kick to the body that backed up the former “Ultimate Fighter” competitor from his offensive onslaught.

Rather than go on the attack, Sanchez allowed Brown a moment to recover and that ended up being his biggest mistake of the fight.

Brown not only got his wind back but soon had Sanchez caught in a scramble after grabbing his leg off a kick as he backed up him towards the fence. That’s when Brown unleashed a hellish elbow that absolutely clobbered Sanchez and sent him crashing face first to the canvas.

WHAT AN ELBOW! Matt Brown KO's Diego Sanchez for the finish at #UFCNorfolk! https://t.co/i7MIUI1rXE

— FOX Sports: UFC (@UFCONFOX) November 12, 2017

Brown knew the fight was over as the referee rushed into stop the contest at 3:44 into the opening round.

Afterwards, Brown wasn’t committed to his previous proclamation about retirement but paid tribute to Sanchez as a tough opponent that deserved his full attention going into Saturday night.

Is this it for 'The Immortal'? Matt Brown answers that question and celebrates with the little ones! #UFCNorfolk https://t.co/D4cyXXAfpa

— FOX Sports: UFC (@UFCONFOX) November 12, 2017

“We’ll see what happens,” Brown said about his future. “I’ll talk about it with my friends, family over the holidays. As for now, I had to keep my focus on Diego. You don’t put 100-percent sole focus into him, he’s gonna whoop your ass and I didn’t want that to happen to me tonight so I gave it all I got.”