want to do that," Brown said after the fight. "I love Pyle. Hes a great guy and a friend, but once youre in there, its either you or me. In a middleweight action, Boston native and late replace

BOSTON -- Chael Sonnen (29-13-1) did exactly what everyone expected him to do: He outwrestled Mauricio "Shogun" Rua (21-8). Then he did what was almost unthinkable. He submitted the former UFC light heavyweight champion in the first round. The bout served as the main event of Saturdays "UFC Fight Night 26: Shogun vs. Sonnen" card at Bostons TD Garden. Sonnen, who is primarily a middleweight, took Rua down immediately at the opening bell. But Rua patiently worked back to his feet and actually scored his own trip, working briefly from top position. But he couldnt hold Sonnen down, and hed soon pay for the mistake. With both fighters back on their feet, Sonnen shocked Rua by latching in a guillotine choke and falling to his back to finish the hold. With time ticking down, Sonnen squeezed the neck. Rua held out for as long as possible but was forced to tap with 13 seconds left in the first round. It was Ruas first submission loss since 2007. Afterward, Sonnen took the mike and issued a formal challenge to Brazilian MMA legend Wanderlei Silva. "Right here on the UFCs new home, FOX Sports 1, Wanderlei Silva, 6-feet tall and 205 pounds," Sonnen said in his post-fight interview. "Boy until I met you, I didnt know they could stack crap that high." The nights co-feature saw heavyweight dark horse Travis Browne (15-1-1) earn a stunning, come-from-behind victory over former Strikeforce champion Alistair Overeem (36-13). Browne was in trouble early, as an aggressive Overeem tagged him with several crushing knees to the body. While Browne absorbed the first few blows, the damage eventually sent him crumpling to the floor, where Overeem unleashed a flurry of vicious right hands. Browne covered up and moved each time referee Mario Yamasaki warned him the fight was about to be called, and he eventually found a way to his feet. Once there, things changed. As Overeem walked forward, Browne continually kicked from range. Eventually, a front kick found Overeems chin, sending him toppling to the canvas. Browne followed with two massive hammerfists, and Yamasaki awarded him the knockout win at 4:08 of the first frame. "We didnt know I was going to get my butt kicked for the first few minutes, but everything else went like we thought it would," Browne said. "I was mentally there, but Ive never had my body shut down like that on me. The referee kept saying he was going to stop it, and I was telling him that I was OK. "I was thinking about my sons and providing for my family; this is what Im made of." In a key bantamweight contest, former World Extreme Cagefighting champion Urijah Faber (29-6) proved hes still one of the worlds absolute best 135-pounders with a convincing decision win over Brazilian contender Iuri Alcantara (27-5). It was Alcantara who looked best early, cracking Fabers chin with a strike he later admitted he though may have broken his jaw. A lateral drop shortly after saw Alcantara secure a dominant position on the floor, where he went to work looking for a submission. Faber somehow survived each attempt and actually swept to the top, where he claimed momentum for the remainder of the fight. Faber outwrestled Alcantara for the final to-and-a-half rounds, repeatedly taking the action to the floor and preventing any counter attacks while peppering the head and body with ground-and-pound blows. After 15 minutes, Faber was awarded a decision win, 30-26, 30-26 and 30-27. "The beginning of the fight was pretty intense, and he was catching me with some really big punches," Faber said after the fight. "Lots of respect for Iuri. Hes a tough guy, and it was a great fight." In a matchup of perennially underrated welterweight contenders, Matt Brown (20-11) earned his sixth consecutive victory with a stunning 29-second knockout win over friend and former training partner Mike Pyle (25-9-1). Brown pushed forward from the opening bell, firing punches with impressive pressure. As Brown flurried, a right hand wobbled Pyle before a knee sent him to the canvas. Brown pounced with big right hands on the floor, and referee Kevin MacDonald stepped in to wave off the fight less than a half-minute after it started. "I really didnt want to do that," Brown said after the fight. "I love Pyle. Hes a great guy and a friend, but once youre in there, its either you or me. In a middleweight action, Boston native and late replacement John Howard (21-8) pulled off an upset win over "The Ultimate Fighter 17" finalist Uriah Hall (8-4). Hall, a striking wizard, surprisingly seemed content to wrestle for most of the fight, but Howard proved up to the challenge, defending well against the cage and countering with chopping leg kicks and leaping left hands. Hall unleashed flashy techniques in spurts, but none landed flush, and he failed to push forward after the missed techniques. Meanwhile, Howard turned in a blue-collar effort, outworking his opponent just enough to earn a split-decision in a bout that failed to live up to its potential. Final scores were 30-27, 28-29 and 29-28, allowing Howard to pick up the win in his first UFC fight since June 2011. "He did surprise me with the takedowns, and hes very dynamic on his feet," Howard said after the win. "Fighting in my hometown of Boston is a dream come true for me, and Im so thankful to the UFC for bringing me back." In the nights first main-card matchup, Boston native Joe Lauzon (22-9) struggled to find any success against fellow lightweight Michael Johnson (14-8) and fell victim to a one-sided unanimous-decision. Johnson controlled the action from start to finish, repeatedly lacing a straight left hand to the chin and countering every Lauzon strike with a flurry of his own. A gutsy Lauzon never stopped walking forward, but he struggled to gain any momentum, and Johnson was awarded the win with scores of 30-27, 30-27 and 30-25. "This was definitely my best performance, not just because of how I performed but who I performed against," Johnson said after the win. "Joe is one of the guys I respected and wanted to fight from the time I got into the UFC. I knew hed be willing to compete with me where the fight was tough. He brought out the best in me." Cheap Authentic Ultra Boost . -- The St. Johns IceCaps weathered a wild first period with the help of goaltender Jussi Olkinuora, before finding offensive inroads in the second. Adidas Ultra Boost Cheap Sale . Cote was eligible to become a free agent Feb. 15. Cote helped running back Jon Cornish run for a league-high 1,813 rushing yards en route to being named the leagues most outstanding player. http://www.cheapauthenticultraboost.com/ .Y. -- Syracuse has turned up the defence at the right time all season, and when High Point threatened to pull off a monumental upset the second-ranked Orange did what they do best with their quick hands and savvy play. Adidas Ultra Boost Clearance . JOHNS, N. Adidas Ultra Boost Sale . -- Catcher Brett Hayes has agreed to a $630,000, one-year contract with the Kansas City Royals, avoiding salary arbitration. When GM Jeff Luhnow joined the Astros in December of 2011, he began one of the most comprehensive rebuilding efforts in recent memory. Since the Astros had lost in the World Series in 2005, the team had been stuck in baseball purgatory, winning between 73 and 86 games per season for the rest of the decade. That was too few wins to make the playoffs but too many wins to land impact draft talent. Luhnow allowed the team to bottom out. He traded away their veterans for prospects, which allowed their young players a chance to play and develop in the majors. They won just 55 and 51 games in his first two years (2012 and 2013), which landed them top draft picks and a larger draft spending pool.Luhnows plan followed a similar blueprint to the one the Rays used to become successful in the late 2000s and that the Cubs followed recently to become the best team in the NL. It can be a painful, five-year rebuild, but once its finished, teams are set up for sustained success. So its no surprise that the Astros developed into a really good team under Luhnow, but its a little surprising that it happened so quickly. In just his fourth season with the team in 2015, the Astros made the leap to 86 wins and a playoff berth as several of their elite prospects like Carlos Correa and George Springer became impact major leaguers.Following their recent hot play this season, the Astros have climbed within thhree games of the AL West-leading Rangers and just half a game out of the wild card.dddddddddddd Given their talent advantage and improved trajectory, the Astros appear poised to take control of the West and win their first division crown since 2001.Luhnows plan has worked, but a couple of months ago, the teams outlook could not have been more different. To start this season, the Astros quickly fell to 10 games under .500. The kind narrative would have been that the Astros young stars had entered sophomore slumps; the cruel narrative would have been that the Astros success in 2015 was an extended hot streak, and the team was not ready to have sustained success. However, both of those narratives fall victim to the common fallacy of baseball fans to over-inflate the importance of the first month of the season.Over the course of a 162-game season, many excellent teams will have extended periods of poor performance. However, when those slumps happen at the beginning of the season, they form an impression of teams that can be difficult to reshape, even after their play and results improve. The Astros are a perfect example of this. Their 7-17 start to the season was the second worst in the AL, but since May 1, they have the best record in the league at 48-29. 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