CINCINNATI, Ohio -- Fighting in his home state for the first time in nearly five years, Matt Brown (19-11) delivered a thrilling performances with a third-round stoppage of Brazilian import Erick Silva (16-5). The bout served as the headlining matchup of Saturdays "UFC Fight Night: Brown vs. Silva" event, which took place at U.S. Bank Arena in Cincinnati. It was Silva who looked well on his way to victory in the early going, delivering a pair of crushing kicks to the body that sent Brown crashing to the floor, doubled over in pain. But as Silva swarmed for the finish, first with strikes and then with a choke attempt, Brown somehow gutted through the onslaught and worked back to his feet. From there, it was a matter of time. Brown shook off the pain and returned fire with punches, kicks and elbows from all angles. To his credit, Silva survived the onslaught for the remainder of the first round, not to mention the entirety of the second frame, as well. Silva showed occasional signs of a comeback, as every body shot caused Brown to momentarily wince. But Browns momentum was too great and his pressure too relentless. Early in the third round, he sent Silva crashing to the floor, and after avoiding a desperation submission attempt, postured up and unleashed a furious flurry of strikes that forced referee Herb Dean to call off the bout at the 2:11 mark of the frame. Afterward, a humble Brown was typically ho-hum in regards to the "Fight of the Year" effort. "I just do what I do," Brown said. "Its my first main event in my home state. The pressure got to me a little bit. Once I settled down, I got going. "My power wasnt really there today; maybe hes that tough. When I usually hit people with those punches, they go down. He kept fighting." In the nights co-feature, Constantinos Philippou picked up a much-needed win with a thunderous first-round finish of Lorenz Larkin. The two strikers were trading bombs on the feet from the start. Philippou was firing heavy leather with his crisp boxing, while Larkin answered in kind while also missing in snapping kick to the legs. But as Philippou closed the range, he nullified some of Larkins tools, and thats when he unleashed his biggest shots. A left hand wobbled Larkin, and a right hand put him out cold at the 3:47 mark, snapping a disappointing two-fight losing streak for Philippou. "It was a big win for me," Philippou said. "It followed two very disappointing losses. Before my last fight, I wasnt sure if I wanted to keep fighting, and it showed. I looked awful. But the UFC called and gave me another shot." Lightweight striker Daron Cruickshank (15-4) scored a first-round finish of Erik Koch (14-4). It was Koch who held the centre of the cage and looked to use his range to pick apart his opponents legs. Unfortunately for Koch, Cruickshank walked through the blows and delivered a stunning left high kick that sent his opponent toppling to the canvas. Cruickshank immediately pounced with a non-stop barrage of punches and elbows that forced a merciful stop at the 3:21 mark of the first. "Its a great night for me," Cruickshank said after the win. "I showed up. When I show up, I can beat anyone. I know I belong among the best in my division, and I think I proved that tonight." In a battle of rangy welterweights, Neil Magny (10-3) started quickly then survived some late trouble to battle back for a hard-fought decision win over Tim Means (20-6-1). As two of the taller fighters in the division, both struggled to settle into a comfortable range. The back-and-forth action left the fight hanging in the balance in the final frame. Means started strong, hurting Magny with an early barrage of knees. But Magny survived the onslaught and battled back to score a takedown, stifling his opponent for the remainder of the round and edging out Means for a decision win with scores of 30-27, 29-28 and 29-28. "Having to adjust to a guy who is as long or longer than me was an adjustment for me," Magny said. "Hes a hard guy to find a training partner for, difficult to imitate, but Im happy with the win. It just puts me in place to keep climbing." In heavyweight action, Australian Soa "The Hulk" Palelei (21-3) ran his winning streak to 11 fights with a crushing first-round defeat of South African UFC newcomer Ruan "Fangzz" Potts (8-2). While Potts was considered the superior grappler, Palelei took him to the floor in the early going and quickly moved to mount, where a perfectly placed left hand put his opponent to sleep at the 2:20 mark of the first round. "I think the hard work and my good coaches have helped," Palelei said. "Relentless training is the key. Ive been working hard and want to prove to everyone that I belong in the UFC." In the nights first main-card matchup, flyweight Chris Cariaso (17-5) handed highly-touted prospect Louis Smolka (7-1) his first career defeat. While Cariaso was the smaller man in the cage, his aggressive attacks throughout the bout, coupled with a strong submission game that saw him threaten to finish the fight on a few occasions, were enough to earn him a hard-fought split-decision win. "I was looking for submissions all the time," Cariaso said after the win. "When guys get low, they get susceptible to submissions, so I tried for them. "We expected him to come forward right away, which is exactly what he did, so the fight went according to plan." Air Max 97 Plus Canada . The Indians scored twice in the top of the ninth, getting the go-ahead run on a wild pitch by closer Matt Lindstrom. Axford (0-1) came in seeking his fifth save in as many chances. Nike Air Force 1 Just Do It Canada . The first baseman hit a two-run homer in the top of the ninth inning to lead the Mets to a thrilling come-from-behind 3-2 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers. http://www.airvapormaxcanada.com/nike-ju...air-max-95.html. The league-leading New York Rangers outhit and outmuscled the Maple Leafs during a 3-0 victory on Saturday. Backup goalie Martin Biron stopped all 20 shots he faced to complete a nice workmanlike effort by the visitors. Vapormax Clearance Sale . The teams were scoreless for most of the first two periods before Canada scored three times in a span of less than four minutes. Sarah Potomak opened the scoring on the power play. Vapormax 97 Canada . Tristan Jackson returned a missed field goal 129 yards early in the fourth quarter as the Roughriders beat the B.C.SEATTLE -- Russell Wilson made sure everyone knew Percy Harvin was healthy. Marshawn Lynch bullied his way to another 100-yard rushing performance. And Richard Sherman? He was just bored. The Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks opened the same way they finished last season, with a blowout victory. "Well always find something that we can do better," Seattle linebacker Bobby Wagner said. "Thats why were so good." Lynch ran for 110 yards and two touchdowns, Harvin had 100 combined yards rushing and receiving, and the Seahawks dominated Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers in a 36-16 victory to kick off the regular season Thursday night. The memories of last season were revisited, with the championship banner unveiled celebrating Seattles first title. But the ceremony was brief, a nod to putting last season behind and beginning the process of trying to become the first team in a decade to repeat. Their effort against the Packers -- a popular pick to contend in the NFC -- will only reinforce the belief Seattle is still the favourite. Wilson was outstanding in the first half, including a 33-yard touchdown pass to Ricardo Lockette. Harvin got touches as a receiver, running back and returner. He was used all over the field in different formations after never being fully healthy in his first season with Seattle. Wilson finished 19 of 28 for 191 yards, while Lynch was at his best. Pete Carroll said earlier this week that Lynch appeared in the best shape of his career, and it showed. Lynch averaged 5.5 yards per carry and topped 100 yards for the 20th time in the regular season since joining the Seahawks in 2010. Lynch, who ran for 1,257 yards and 12 touchdowns last season, barrelled through a trio of Packers for a TD with 3:41 left before halftime to give the Seahawks a 17-10 lead and added a second scoring run on the first play of the fourth quarter. "Obviously, we were the more physical team today, offensively and defensively. I saw supposedly some of the best players in the league not want to tackle Marshawn Lynch," Seattle defensive end Michael Bennett said. "Of course, nobody is going to say nothing about that, but I seen a lot of guys whiff on tackles that should have been 2-yard gains and theyre supposed to be the best." Seattle had 207 yards rushing as a team and won for the 18th time in its last 20 regular- season home games. Harvin finished with 11 offensive touches, including four rushes for 41 yards. "If we already peaked this game were going to be in trouble,"t; Harvin said.dddddddddddd "I hope we can just take this game and build on it." Rodgers was 23 of 33 for 189 yards and was isolated to one side of the field. He looked almost exclusively for Jordy Nelson matched up against Byron Maxwell and never threw in Shermans direction. Nelson finished with nine receptions, but Maxwell came up with a third-quarter interception on a pass that deflected off Nelsons hands. The most action for Sherman came in the first half when he accidently blocked Davon House into Earl Thomas on a punt return causing a fumble recovered by the Packers. But Seattles defenders did their part. They sacked Rodgers three times, taking advantage of a knee injury suffered by right tackle Bryan Bulaga in the second quarter. His replacement, Derek Sherrod, gave up a fourth-down sack to Cliff Avril to end one drive inside Seattle territory. Following a Seattle punt, Sherrod was beaten by Michael Bennett on Green Bays next offensive snap. Rodgers was stripped and Sherrod fell on the fumble in the end zone for a safety and a 22-10 lead. "I think that you get wake up calls and then you get drill sergeant kick you out the bed calls and I think we just got kicked out the bed onto a cement floor, and it hurt," Green Bay defensive lineman Mike Daniels said. Eddie Lacy was mostly a non-factor with 34 yards rushing on 12 carries and left in the fourth quarter with a concussion. And despite holding the Packers to 255 total yards -- the third fewest by Green Bay since the start of 2012 -- Sherman felt the job wasnt up to standard. "It wasnt dominant at all. We have a lot of things to clean up," Sherman said. "We missed some opportunities on some turnovers. We missed some tackles on key drives we could have stopped we had some key penalties. These are all things we need to clean up because we have a really high standard." Lynchs second TD put Seattle up 29-10. Rodgers threw a 3-yard scoring pass to Randall Cobb in the fourth quarter, but Wilson closed out the victory with a 13-play drive that ate up 7 minutes and was capped by a 15-yard TD pass to Derrick Coleman on fourth down with 2:31 left. NOTES: Former Seattle LT Walter Jones was presented his Hall of Fame ring during a halftime ceremony that featured fellow Seattle Hall of Famers Steve Largent and Cortez Kennedy. The trio raised the "12th Man Flag" prior to kickoff. ... Wagner tied a career high with 14 tackles. ... Reserve James Starks led Green Bay with 37 yards rushing. ' ' '