Since his time on the seventh season of “The Ultimate Fighter,” the UFC’s long-running reality series, Brown has been a tough guy’s tough guy. His aggressive style and explosive power have won over many fans, and UFC president Dana White continually refers to Brown as the company’s resident “badass.”
But after a stellar 4-1 start in the UFC, the otherwise-soft-spoken 29-year-old has suffered back-to-back losses. Even with his crowd-pleasing style, a third defeat likely will mean his walking papers.
“You kind of can’t help but think about that pressure,” said Brown, who’s now living in Seattle and training with Matt Hume’s AMC MMA gym.
“I really try not to, but I’m not stupid. I know how the UFC operates. I could win three straight ‘Fight of the Night’ (bonuses), but if I don’t win those fights, I’m probably still going to be cut.”
The UFC currently employs about 250 fighters (another hundred or so join the ranks with January’s UFC-WEC merger), and roster spots are at a premium.
“I try to block it out,” Brown said of the pressure. “It’s negative pressure. If I go in there worrying about getting cut, I’m thinking about the wrong stuff. I need to worry about my performance, and victory will take care of itself.”
Brown’s recent loses came to Ricardo Almeida, a former middleweight and third-degree Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, and Chris Lytle, a veteran fighter in the midst of a career resurgence.
But Brown thinks his training camp has prepared him well for UFC 123.
“It’s nice to get out here and learn new things all the time and really develop my style that’s taught by Matt Hume and his team,” said Brown. “They just put everything together really well. ... I’m a much more complete fighter.”
UFC 123 also features a headliner between former light-heavyweight champions Quinton “Rampage” Jackson (30-8) and Lyoto Machida (16-1), and UFC stars B.J. Penn (15-7-1) and Matt Hughes (45-7) meet in a long-awaited rubber match that co-headlines.
Dann Stupp is editor-in-chief of
MMAjunkie.com, voted best media outlet in the 2008 and 2009 World MMA Awards. For the latest mixed martial arts news, go to MMAjunkie.com.
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