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Believe in Brown … Again
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 By Chris Young, Comcast.net Sports
One flashy spinning elbow and former WEC featherweight champ Urijah Faber found himself at the business end of a Mike Thomas Brown counter right hand. The shot collapsed Faber to the canvas, where Brown pounced and delivered a flurry of strikes that ended the bout midway through the opening round.
It took just over two and a half minutes for Faber to taste defeat – and the canvas – for the first time in nearly three years.
That was last November.
In the media storm that followed, Faber (22-2) admitted that he “got caught,” which was his way of saying he made a mistake and Brown capitalized. It’s true, he did get caught. But the catch came after he got cute with a fighter who’s been in the game with some of the best 145-pounders in the world.
Mike Thomas Brown is for real.
His stoppage of Faber sent a shockwave through the featherweight division. The win was hailed by some as a lucky shot by a little-known fighter who happened to be in the right spot at the right time.
But Brown is not your typical fly-by-night goon with tattoos and a chip on his shoulder. He may not be a household name like Faber, but his crushing blow was no luck shot soaring in from across the cage.
I’ve watch the replay a dozen times. Brown’s win was anything but fluky.
Faber’s no-look elbow was wild, but it was also telegraphed. Brown saw Urijah loading up the shot while he was crouched against the cage, and when Faber lunged, he stepped to the left and countered with a clean right hook.
It was textbook boxing, a fundamentally sound counter, and it carried MTB to the title.
Now 21-4 and riding a nine fight win streak, the American Top Team standout is considered the No. 1 featherweight in the world. And with his belt in tow, he’s staring down the barrel of a rematch with “The California Kid” Sunday at the Arco Arena in Sacramento (9 PM ET, Versus)– Faber’s backyard.
The bout is being billed as the greatest featherweight fight in history … lofty expectations when you consider how quickly the first meeting played out.
But those two and a half minutes earned Brown his first world title and some of the mainstream recognition he’s long deserved.
Another convincing win over Faber should nix any doubt that Brown is a legitimate champion and the man to beat at 145.
The Pick
In a recent interview with FanHouse, Brown noted that he’s not changing his approach and that he doesn’t expect Faber will either.
“I think he might try to take me down this time, but I don't see a lot changing,” Brown said. “He's a really well-rounded, dynamic fighter, so there's not any one thing you can prepare for. You just have to train hard and get a lot of different looks from your sparring partners: guys who can wrestle, guys who can submit you on the ground, guys who can kickbox.”
Those “guys” the champ referred to are his training partners at ATT in Coconut Creek, Florida, and they happen to be some of the best mixed martial artists in the world. Brown stacking the deck in training isn’t surprising. He’s an experienced striker with heavy hands, strong wrestling skills and an under-appreciated ground game. His power is unrivaled at 145 and those who choose to stand with him often learn at the expense of their chins.
Faber chose to stand with him and was knocked out. Sure, he made a mistake, but had the fight continued the course it seemed set upon, it was only a matter of time before Brown found his range. For some, it’s a surprise he plans to do it again.
“I think standing and banging with the guy is pretty smart,” Faber said in an interview with Frank Curreri. “I do it every day in practice and he (Brown) is not the best standup guy that I’ve ever gone up against. I started working with Juan Lazcano, who’s a world champion caliber boxer. And my main trainer, Master Thong, who does my Muay Thai and boxing, added some more tricks.
“Last time I took a huge punch to the chin as I was diving into it and not looking – which is the most dangerous time to take a punch, when you don’t know it’s coming. And I wasn’t unconscious by any means so I don’t feel like because he landed that punch that his standup is far superior or anything like that. I just got caught and it was unfortunate. But I don’t fear any part of the game when I go with him.”
It’s hard to ask a fighter who is as skilled as Faber to fight another man’s fight. Former UFC light heavyweight champ Rashad Evans played it safe against Lyoto Machida and it cost him the title.
“Cautious Urijah” is an oxymoron. But if Faber can't scale back his eagerness to put on a show he has a slim shot to upend Brown.
The cool surfer kid from sunny California is as likable as he is confident. He's naturally talented, and what he lacks in size he makes up for in speed and creativity. His instinctive style is what kept him atop the WEC’s featherweight division for nearly 18 months.
He’ll have the crowd, but the level-headed champ will have the belt.
MTB’s title win was no freak accident and Sunday night he’ll remind the world a second time.
I like Brown by TKO.
Will “The California Kid” get the better of Brown this time around or will their rematch with be a replay of Round 1? Who wins? How will it end? Weigh-in here.
Message Edited by Vito_Forlenza on 06-05-2009 05:08 PM
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