The Prelim Breakout Star is a once per event article that helps fans get to know those who will be entertaining them from the undercard. The intention of the article is not to bring attention to the most talented guy on the preliminary card, but rather one that the common fan may have overlooked or underestimated.
This segment, for the most part, has been about showing off those who have yet to be noticed. The fighters on their way to the top with the world in front of them. Today, we look at one who has already been there, and seems to have slipped off the mind of the general public. A man who has seen the top of the mountain and hopes to head back there. A man who looks for the spotlight one more time.
Mike Brown
Affiliation – American Top Team
From – Portland, Maine
Height – 5’6”
Weight – 145 lbs (Featherweight)
Record – 26-8 (2-2 UFC)
What makes him impressive
Let’s start with the most obvious. This guy was the featherweight king for over a year. He took what is now the UFC featherweight belt from a guy seen as pretty much immortal to the fans of the sport. Urijah Faber had won the belt in his WEC debut and defended it against the sport's best including, 135-kingpin Dominick Cruz and legend Jens Pulver. However, it was Mike Brown’s right hand that ended that reign. And to show it was no fluke, he defended it twice, including once against Faber, before handing it over to now champion Jose Aldo.
While he may be 37, Mike Brown has a ton left in the tank. He showed in his past two fights that he still has the power he needs to get people to the ground. And while it was his heavy hand that gained him fame in the first place, the fact that he has 13 submission wins and the ability to put the fight there is far more impressive.
Why he’s been overlooked
There is really no reason why, but fans tend to overlook accomplishments that happened in other organizations. While this seems to make some sense, in that they see the UFC as the number one organization and see everything else as beneath it, the WEC was the place for lighter weight fights for a long time. When the UFC didn’t have those divisions, that’s where Renan Barao, Dominick Cruz, Urijah Faber, and Demetrious Johnson fought. Since his run in the UFC has been less impressive, people forget all this star has accomplished.
What makes this a good matchup
Nobody is going to confuse Steven Siler for a striker. He doesn’t hide the fact that he’d rather have the majority of the fight on the ground. That’ll be no problem for Brown, who will likely hold the key to getting top position with his college wrestling pedigree. In addition, it’s unlikely that Brown, with his jiu jitsu black belt from American Top Team, will be submitted from the top.
Daniel Vreeland is a writer (PrelimPicker) and teacher with an avid love for martial arts. He has practiced jiu jitsu and submission grappling under and next to many top names including Royce Gracie, Rousimar Palhares, Murilo Bustamante and Marco Alvan. He has placed in multiple NAGA grappling tournaments and currently trains under black belt Dave Roy in Amherst, MA.
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