Alexander Is Down After Loss, Not Out

In his UFC debut in May, Houston Alexander (top) defeated Keith Jardine. (Photo Courtesy Of Ufc)

NEWARK, Nov. 18 -- As Houston Alexander tramped into Prudential Center on Saturday, he received the largest ovation of the night; louder than the roar for hometown New Jersey fighter Frankie Edgar, and louder than UFC 78 headliners Rashad Evans and Michael Bisping.

But within in a few minutes, Alexander was flat on his back with unblocked punches pummeling his face, the momentum he had built up over the past six months beaten out of him.

"I've seen it happen so many times," Ultimate Fighting Championship President Dana White said. "It's the sport, man. One minute you're riding high and then you lose. There's something inside guys who are real fighters who take a loss and then come right back and fight again."

Mixed martial arts is an unforgiving sport, but a fighter can make a comeback as quickly in the UFC as he can fall. Just look at Keith Jardine.

When Alexander, 35, made his UFC debut on May 26, he handled Jardine easily, winning with a first-round knockout. But Jardine returned to beat UFC legend Chuck Liddell on Sept. 22, putting Jardine back in line for a title shot.

"It's not that big of a deal because he's had a couple of impressive wins," said Jardine, who was in attendance Saturday. "Because the UFC likes the way I fight, I have a little bit of a buffer and he's earned that, too."

Even Randy Couture, perhaps one of the most revered fighters in mixed martial arts history, a five-time champion and UFC Hall of Famer, has a 16-8 career record.

"I've been in this long enough to know that stuff like this happens," Alexander said. "It's how you bounce back and how you carry yourself afterwards."

Alexander (8-2) still shook hands with the fans who adore him as he exited the arena and personally thanked them. "They love him," White said of the crowd. "I don't think that's going to change when he comes out next time. This isn't boxing. In boxing it's easy to build a guy up to 39-0 with 38 knockouts. He loses one time and he [stinks] and nobody wants to see him again. It doesn't happen in this sport."

Alexander's strong following partially is the result of a "regular guy" image the single father of six embodies. However, his popularity also is borne of his quick success in the ring despite his recent emergence: In addition to his impressive 48-second victory over Jardine, the Nebraska native floored Alessio Sakara in just over a minute on Sept. 8.

Because of his rapid ascension, many mixed martial arts fans figured Saturday's bout would prove if Alexander was for real. But Brazilian native Thiago Silva (12-0) exploited Alexander's wrestling skills, his biggest question mark. Alexander stalked Silva for the first minute before losing a submission grip when his hand slipped on the Vaseline Silva applied to his face before the match.

Alexander fell to the mat and would never get up. Silva began raining blows on Alexander's head, fewer and fewer blocked with each series. Eventually Alexander's hands flailed to his side, allowing several unanswered blows to land cleanly on his brow; the fight was stopped 3 minutes 25 seconds into the first round.

"It's just unfortunate and I got caught in a bad position," said Alexander, who felt the fight was stopped too soon. "But I'm just going to get off the plane and get back to my job."

Though his ground game surely and justifiably will be questioned until he proves it's not a liability, Alexander said he isn't going to change anything and he isn't going to make excuses to his fans.

"I'm still the same person I was before the loss," Alexander said. "I'll just let people know I'll be back. That's it, man. I'll be back."