Fighter Profile: Matt Brown

Overall Record: 14-10

UFC Record: 5-4

Height: 6’0’’ Weight: 170 lbs.

Born: 01-10-1981

MMA Gym: AMC MMA

Matt “The Immortal” Brown is a professional Mixed Martial Artists, specializing in boxing and Judo. Brown earned his nickname after surviving his toughest bout to date, one with heroin. At one point in his life, Brown was an addict, and eventually overdosed on heroin, almost taking his life.

He recovered, and turned his life around completely, and tried out for The Ultimate Fighter season 7. He lost to the eventual winner of the competition, Amir Sadollah, in the quarterfinals of the UFC reality show. Due to his aggressive style, and his back-to-back finishes on the show, he was brought back for a fight on The Ultimate Fighter 7 finale, where he defeated Matt Arroyo. After his TKO win over Arroyo, Brown was awarded the right to stay within the UFC’s ranks and earned a multiple-fight contract.

His first contracted fight was against rising prospect, Dong Hyun Kim. Kim caught Brown in a rear-naked choke in the first round, but couldn’t sink it in. In the final round, Kim opened a cut on Brown’s forehead with elbow strikes, and was awarded the split decision.

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In his next three fights, Brown did what he had become known for, finishing fights. He defeated Ryan Thomas with an armbar submission, Pete Sell by TKO and James Wilks by TKO as well. He had rattled off three-in-a-row, and was ready for a step up in competition.

His next bout came against one of the top Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioners in the sport, Ricardo Almeida. Brown, who originally requested to fight Renzo Gracie, lost the fight by rear-naked choke in the second round.

He was next given a rematch with Chris Lytle. Despite his most recent fight coming out in a loss, he was still given another step up in competition. Lytle and Brown had faced off early in Brown’s career in the United Fight League, and Brown lost by guillotine choke in the second round. The rematch came out similarly as Brown lost by submission in the second round, though this time by way of an armbar.

Brown was on a two-fight skid, and desperate for a win, so the UFC sought to feed him rising fighter, Brian Foster. Foster, having watched both of Brown’s fights with Lytle, baited Brown into a guillotine choke in the second round.

Brown was hungry for a win, and was set to face Mark Scanlon, and after he pulled out from injury, Brown’s new opponent was supposed to be Matt Riddle. Another injury altered the matchup, and the bout was cancelled altogether. Brown was next arranged to fight Rich Attonito, but when Martin Kampmann had to pull out of his bout with John Howard, Brown was bumped up to the main event to fight Howard. Brown finally ended his skid with a win in June. He won the fight by unanimous decision.

Recent Matt Brown MMA News:

• Lost to Dong Hyun Kim by Split Decision @ UFC 88: Breakthrough on September 6, 2008

• Defeated Ryan Thomas by Submission (Armbar) in Round 2 @ UFC 91: Couture vs. Lesnar on November 15, 2008

• Defeated Pete Sell by TKO (Punches) in Round 1 @ UFC 96: Jackson vs. Jardine on March 7, 2009

• Defeated James Wilks at UFC 105 on November 14, 2009 - UFC 105 results

• Lost to Chris Lytle via Submission at UFC 116 on July 3, 2010 in Las Vegas, NV - UFC 116 results

By Steve Cassidy
ProFighting-fans.com MMA Staff Writer
Published October 2011