Issue 118
August 2014
Dana White called him one of the UFC’s toughest fighters following his win against Erick Silva, but now Matt ‘The Immortal’ Brown intends to show the world he’s the meanest too as he chases down his title rivals.
Matt Brown might well be the most aggressive and relentless fighter in the UFC today. His career-best form of seven straight victories features six punishing stoppages and now he stands just one more win away from a shot at the UFC 170-pound title.
He’s gone from inconsistent welterweight nearly-man to a bonus-check-cashing legit contender in little over two years, and he’s not finished yet. On July 26th, Brown will meet the division’s other finishing machine, ‘Ruthless’ Robbie Lawler, in a shoot-out many are tipping to be a ‘Fight of the Year’ contender that should propel the victor into a title shot with champion Johny Hendricks.
When Fighters Only visited the Brown family home in Galloway, Ohio, located five miles outside Columbus, we discovered a man mentally prepared for the next step.
Perhaps somewhat unlike his ferocious and dogged fighting style would suggest, Brown is a deep thinker and a proud father, who is somehow able to flick a switch the day of a fight to become one of the most combative men in sports.
Young sons Hunter and Connor, plus wife Coleen, provide him with the foundations to build his career and brand, while that incredible cardio he possesses has its origins in one of the world’s leading powerlifting facilities. After just one day in Matt Brown’s world you can see just how he’s readying himself for champion status.
Meaner, nastier, stronger, tougher
UFC president Dana White reiterates in this issue how he expects Brown vs. Lawler to be a great fight, and describes the two title eliminator rivals as the “meanest, nastiest, strongest and toughest SOBs in the UFC.” Yet Brown insists he’s got only half that statement right.
When the pair finally collide at the top of the UFC on Fox 12 card in San Jose, California on July 26th, Brown’s determined to show the world who is the toughest of the two. “I believe I’m meaner, nastier, stronger and tougher than him. I’m not just saying that. I believe it,” he states to FO. “I know what I’m capable of and it’s just simply a matter of me performing in the Octagon.
“That’s the most difficult part about fighting. It’s not about being great, it’s about being great when it counts. There are a lot of guys performing in the gym, but when it counts they aren’t good. The window is so small. People talk about a window being five, 10, 15 years. But if you bring that down to the time that really counts, the time inside the Octagon, you are talking about maybe two hours. That’s what counts. That’s what people remember you by, not the training.”
So, how did Brown adjust his window, to ensure he left behind an inconsistent 12-11 pro record to become a truly dominant force over his last seven fights?
“More things have changed than I could ever put down on paper. And I hope if I’m around for another six or seven fights that just as much changes again,” he states. “You have to evolve. You have to constantly evolve. You see guys all the time who don’t evolve and the sport starts to pass them by, although I won’t name any names… So many things have changed, it’s just a matter of making those changes positive ones. Changes for the better.”
One part of that shift can been seen dotted around the Brown household. On doors and cabinets, Matt has pinned motivational notes – some with images – that he’s designed and printed from his computer.
From ‘fight smart’ to ‘eat clean’ pinned all around the kitchen, to the picture, hanging on the Browns’ front door, of Robbie Lawler accompanied with the words, ‘I will defeat Robbie Lawler on July 26th.’ It’s all about positive reinforcement.
“That’s exactly what it is, just simple positive reinforcement,” he explains. “It’s so easy to forget what’s actually happening. It’s so easy to forget you’re fighting one of the best guys in the world, if not the best. It’s easy to be lazy for a day, to eat some garbage food. So that keeps it fresh in my mind and reminds me what it’s all about. This is what your life is. It’s not this couch or that TV.”
Silva lightning
It was this new mentality that saw Brown come through the toughest test of his recent run of good form, breaking the heart of top contender Erick Silva when their UFC Fight Night card touched down in Brown’s home state in May.
Brown took the best the talented Brazilian had to offer early on, and then came back stronger than ever – to the delight of the home crowd in Cincinnati – to force a sensational third-round TKO finish.
But Brown had to overcome a series of knee-buckling body kicks and a serious rear naked choke attempt before he was able to dominate. He recalls: “It was all about action and reaction at each and every moment. If he puts his hand here then I need to put mine here. Just taking care of business every second of the fight.
“There was a point I realized he wasn’t going to choke me out, and then I was thinking about what I was going to do when I got out. I wanted to show him he should have finished me when he had the chance because now it’s my turn.”
Brown stated after the fight against Silva that he suffered from a mistimed warm-up, one that caused him to start slowly. And it almost cost him dearly.
Now toying around with his 10-month-old German Shepherd dog, Harley, Brown says: “Yeah, my adrenaline dropped too much. I’ve had 30 fights and I have a routine warm-up I do in the back every time. But with this being my main first event I didn’t anticipate how long the wait would be. So I had an adrenaline dump and I had to pull myself back up.
“So before the fight started I sort of knew the first few minutes might be tough. But that’s not uncommon, a lot of guys take a few minutes to get things going. Unfortunately, he didn’t start slow.”
However, once Brown had survived Silva’s attacks, he was back in his zone and back to doing what he does best: breaking the other guy’s will. Yet Brown insists that while it may look like that to fans, that he basically pulls his opponents’ heart right out of them, ‘Immortal’ believes it’s more about working and thinking every second you’re in the Octagon.
“It’s not about breaking your opponent mentally,” he states. “The conscious effort is to focus completely on each moment. Each second of the fight is what counts.
“That’s my fighting style. Each second is important. When I fight like that I’m able to perform much better. If I’m thinking about outcomes or plans for the next round, well, there might not be a next round.
“You need the mentality to live every moment like it’s your last, because in a fight it can be. The mentality is not about breaking someone, that’s just the result of what’s happening during each second of the fight.”
And to reach this mental state Matt has to take himself into a dark place on the day of the fight, as wife Coleen knows too well. He admits: “I’m just a completely different person. It’s hard to describe. I feel like a very awkward person that day. I don’t feel like talking to anyone, but at the same time no one talks to me and that p**ses me off even more. There is no way to be happy that day.”
Team 'Immortal'
Brown, famously, isn’t a part of any of the sport’s more recognized fight teams. He does things his own way, always has, and sees no advantage in joining up with one of MMA’s better-known coaches or squads. And given his recent record, who could argue?
He says: “I have a team, but when I don’t have a fight everyone goes their own way. I’m trying to bring it all to Columbus, but I just haven’t had the time yet. If I’m running to a gym or leaving a gym I’m taking time away from my fighting career. Plus, leaving my kids really hurts now they’re at an age where they understand things. I’ve really started missing fun times with them and for that reason, I’m trying to bring everything here.
“The biggest thing is the logistics. The guys at Westside Barbell help a lot, and Colleen does a great job of organizing and scheduling everything. I can’t do everything myself, but I am the CEO of the whole operation. Everything has to go through me”
Westside Barbell is to powerlifting what the UFC is to MMA. It’s an ‘invitation only’ elite training facility in Columbus, Ohio, created by world-renowned powerlifter Louie Simmons. FO tags along with Matt to his S&C session, and Simmons, post-workout himself and with fresh blood on his sneakers, raves about Brown and what he’s capable of currently and in the future.
It’s a set-up Brown admits has been a huge factor in his emergence at 170lb, and arguably the number-one source for that insane cardio he has in the Octagon.
“There are few people or places I’d give as much credit to as I do Westside Barbell for helping me evolve. Louie Simmons and Tom Berry especially,” Brown says.
“Louie is a mastermind. He has fixed so many underlying issues with me it’s incredible. He has increased my strength and endurance. And look at him, a 66-year-old man who just got done lifting at eight in the morning, standing there with blood on his shoes. That’s just soldier s**t right there.”
More money, more decisions
Back at the house, the mailman has just been and while FO is invited to sit down and have a meal with the Brown brood, Matt opens a letter from the UFC. Inside is his bonus check from his last performance. A ‘Fight of the Night’ and ‘Performance of the Night’ double, with more zeros on than you could shake a calculator at.
However, Brown reveals he learned the hard way about money long ago, and Coleen is quick to point out that checks like this may never come around again.
“More money, more problems? No, Biggie had it wrong,” Matt says with a smile. “It’s not more money, more problems, it's more money, more decisions. A problem is what I had when I was 20 and didn’t know where I was going to get my next meal. That’s a f**king problem.
“Now we just have more decisions. I try to stay very humble about it and not let it affect my mentality. A big check like this looks great, but I’ve learned my lessons with smaller checks that it can be gone really quick.
“After my fight on the TUF Finale, I got $8k and $8k. I paid my trainers and I had maybe $12,000 left. I didn’t realize I had to pay taxes, so I went out and bought a new motorcycle, I rented this badass house and paid six months on it, I got speakers for my car, a new wardrobe and basically blew the lot.
“I went to do my taxes and the accountant said I owed. I actually thought I’d be getting money back. That was a tough lesson to learn. We all make mistakes. I mean, it’s not like I’m any different to anyone else.”
Apart, Matt, from being one of the meanest, nastiest, strongest and toughest SOBs in the UFC?
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