UFC welterweight Matt Brown discusses career resurgence, Renzo Gracie talk
By all accounts, UFC welterweight Matt Brown is a tough guy.
It was apparent during his run on "The Ultimate Fighter 7," when he quickly won the respect of his castmates, and even more so during his current and impressive 4-1 run in the UFC.
But while some of that toughness is no doubt inherent, Brown, who recently topped "TUF 9" winner James Wilks at UFC 105, said much of it comes from his intense mental preparations.
Brown, a guest on today's edition of MMAjunkie.com Radio (
www.mmajunkie.com/radio), discussed how his mental conditioning has helped transform his career. While just 7-6 prior to his "TUF" appearance, Brown has since gone 4-1 – after joining the biggest fight promotion in the world. In fact, the lone loss came via close split decision to undefeated Dong Hyun Kim.
"I've always felt like I've been a mentally strong fighter," Brown said. "I think that's been a strong point for me. But that's something you can always improve upon."
When it comes to sports psychology, Brown is an admitted bookworm. He reads about the subject constantly, partially because he quickly realized the books contained the same information that a couple pricey sports psychologists gave him. He visualizes his goals – and then ingrains them into his mind by writing them down. In fact, he'll sometimes scribble the same goal over and over and over again so it becomes second nature. Some of them are posted all over his room.
"I see it when I wake up, when I go to bed, and when I'm just sitting around," Brown said. "Visualizing is a huge part. It's probably the biggest part of the process."
For a guy who's established a legendary work ethic and with grueling training sessions, why add the extra work of intense mental preparations?
"If I don't become a champion and a legend ... that's fine as long as I put everything into it," Brown said. "But if you look back on your life and wish there was just a little more you would have done, that's the worst thing that can happen in your life.
"You don't get a second chance at things like that. You only have one chance to give it everything you have."
Such a philosophy paid off handsomely at UFC 105, when Brown defeated Wilks in a wild and back-and-forth main-card bout in Manchester, England. Brown's victory, which ultimately came via third-round TKO, didn't tell the whole story.
"I can look at every minute of that fight and see something wrong," Brown said. "I was a lot, lot more gassed than what you might have thought. That jetlag – I was fine all week, but as soon as I was walking to the cage, I didn't feel like going out there.
"You're usually really intense, and I walked out there like, 'I don't want to do this.' ... I attribute [the win] more to mental conditioning. I was able to get my mind where I needed it even thought I didn't physically feel like it."
Although tagged with a lengthy medical suspension after the fight due to a possible hand injury, Brown expects to be cleared early and hopes for a return in the first quarter of 2010.
However, one heavily promoted fight – with MMA legend Renzo Gracie – won't come to fruition. Brown caused a bit of stir recently when he told MMAWeekly.com Radio he asked Joe Silva for the fight. And even though he clarified at the time that he has nothing but respect for Gracie, Brown said some fans criticized him for "calling out" another fighter anyway.
"That was never my intent," Brown said. "It was one of those things that I should have thought about before I said it. I just wanted to make myself an available option. He's a legend. ... (With) fights like that, you're not going to lose. You get knocked out in a second? You still had the balls to be in there in the first place."
One person upset with Brown's comments is Daniel Gracie, Renzo's cousin and a fellow fighter, who criticized Brown after the interview.
"Here's the issue," Brown said. "I trained there (with them) before. They were very open to me and taught me stuff. ... And they take that as disrespectful that I trained there and wanted to fight them.
"It is what is. I do want to fight him. I asked for him, but I'm not getting him. I probably didn't deserve it."
While saying he "wouldn't be training with anger or rage" if the matchup had been booked, Brown said he won't back down from such lofty challenges. It's his nature, he said.
"I'm in a position where I'm going to be fighting tough guys, so why wouldn't I take a fight with someone with that high of a stature? I'm trying to make money here and build a career and put food on the table. As a martial artist, someone like Renzo would be one of the greatest tests."
But for now, he's simply enjoying the time off.
"There's nothing right now (with a possible next fight)," Brown said. "I'm just in chill mode."
