Mike Brown

Mike Thomas Brown (born September 8, 1975) is an American mixed martial arts trainer and former fighter who is the head MMA coach for American Top Team. As a mixed martial arts fighter, Brown was a former WEC Featherweight Champion and also competed in the Featherweight division of the UFC before retiring in 2014 to become a full-time MMA coach. He is the head coach for many current UFC and Bellator fighters, including Dustin Poirier, Alexandre Pantoja, Bo Nickal, Mateusz Gamrot, Renato Moicano, Danny Sabatello and Johnny Eblen.

Background Brown wrestled at Bonny Eagle High School in Standish, Maine, where he won a state championship in 1992, his junior year. He went on to wrestle at Norwich University, where he was known for his ability to focus. Although he was an average student in high school, he was able to apply his focus to academics and excelled as a scholar-athlete in college. According to Norwich wrestling coach Rich Hasenfus, Brown was one of the smartest athletes and strongest wrestlers at Norwich.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career Brown had fought in several MMA events including most recently WEC, where he was the Featherweight Champion. In 2005, Brown suffered a near career-ending loss at DEEP 22 in Japan. Brown's opponent, noted leg-lock expert Masakazu Imanari, dislocated Brown's leg to the point that his leg was pulled out and to the side of his knee joint. His only other pre-WEC losses were to world-class fighters; besides Imanari, only Joe Lauzon, Genki Sudo, and Hermes Franca (all UFC veterans) had defeated Brown en route to Brown's 18–4 record.

World Extreme Cagefighting Riding a six-fight win streak, Mike Brown signed with the WEC's Featherweight division. His debut in the WEC was against Brazilian Jiu-jitsu expert Jeff Curran at WEC 34. In each round, Brown matched Curran's stand-up and then took him down and scored from the top with elbows and punches. Brown won all three rounds en route to a unanimous decision victory.

Brown was then offered a shot at the WEC Featherweight Championship with a fight against Urijah Faber at WEC 36. The fight was originally set to take place in Hollywood, Florida on September 10, 2008, but it was postponed to November 5, 2008, due to Hurricane Ike. At the time, Faber had held the title for over two and a half years and was widely considered to be the best fighter at 145 pounds in the world. Brown welcomed the opportunity to fight the best in the world and felt that his training with American Top Team had prepared him well. When the heavily-favored Faber attempted a risky elbow strike, Brown countered with a right hook to the jaw, knocking down the champion. Brown then followed with a flurry of unanswered punches and the fight was called off at 2:23 of the first round. Brown won by technical knockout and was declared the new WEC featherweight champion.

Brown's first title defense came against Texas-native Leonard Garcia in Corpus Christi, Texas as the main event of WEC 39. Garcia came out very aggressively, but he made a mistake and circled in the wrong direction. Garcia tapped out at 1:57 of the first round. Brown said that he did not really feel like the champion after the Faber fight, but he was happy he established himself as the champion with his victory over Garcia.

Brown's second defense came in a rematch against former champ Urijah Faber as the main event of WEC 41: Brown vs. Faber 2. The bout took place at ARCO Arena on June 7, 2009, in Sacramento, California.

Urijah Faber was defeated a second time by Brown via unanimous decision in front of his hometown crowd in Sacramento. The score cards read 49–46, 48–47 and 49–46, all in favor of Brown, solidifying him as the best Featherweight in the world. MMA websites Sherdog.com and ESPN.com both stated that "Faber's right hand was no match for the top of Mike Brown's head".

Following his unanimous Dec win over Faber (for the second time), Brown lost his WEC Featherweight Championship against José Aldo on November 18, 2009, at WEC 44. Brown lost by knockout in the second round.

Brown took on Manvel Gamburyan on April 24, 2010, at WEC 48. Gamburyan defeated Brown via KO in the first round.

Mike Brown's next fight was against Cole Province at WEC 51. He won the fight via TKO (punches) in the first round.

Return to Ultimate Fighting Championship On October 28, 2010, World Extreme Cagefighting merged with the Ultimate Fighting Championship. As part of the merger, all WEC fighters were transferred to the UFC.

Brown first faced Diego Nunes on January 1, 2011, at UFC 125. He lost the fight via split decision.

Brown jumped right back into action to face Rani Yahya on January 22, 2011, at UFC Fight Night 23, replacing an injured Chan Sung Jung. He lost the fight via unanimous decision.

Brown was out until mid-2011 recovering from surgery on his hand that was injured during the Yahya bout. On August 6, 2011, Brown faced Nam Phan at UFC 133. He won the fight via unanimous decision, earning him his first UFC victory.

Brown was expected to face Vagner Rocha on January 20, 2012, at UFC on FX 1. However, Brown was forced out of the bout with a knee injury.

Brown faced Daniel Pineda on May 26, 2012, at UFC 146. He defeated Pineda by unanimous decision. In an interview with Ariel Helwani following the fight, Brown stated that he would give himself two weeks to consider retiring based on how his body felt after recovering. On July 4, 2012, Brown signed a 5-fight deal with the UFC.

Brown was expected to face Akira Corassani on August 17, 2013, at UFC Fight Night 26. However, Corassani pulled out of the bout and was replaced by Steven Siler. Brown lost the fight via knockout in the first round.

Brown was expected to face Estevan Payan on April 19, 2014, at UFC on Fox 11. However, Brown was forced out of the bout with an injury and was replaced by promotional newcomer Alex White.

After pulling out of the fight against Payan, Brown said he would likely not fight again, though he did not say he was retiring.

Championships and accomplishments World Extreme Cagefighting WEC Featherweight Championship (One time) Two successful title defenses Fight of the Night (One time) Knockout of the Night (One time) Submission of the Night (One time) Absolute Fighting Championships AFC Featherweight Championship (One time) Sports Illustrated 2008 Upset of the Year Combat Press 2016 Coach of the Year 2017 Coach of the Year 2018 Coach of the Year World MMA Awards 2018 The Shawn Tompkins Coach of the Year 2023 The Shawn Tompkins Coach of the Year

Mixed martial arts record Loss

Steven Siler KO (punches) UFC Fight Night: Shogun vs. Sonnen

Boston, Massachusetts, United States Win

Daniel Pineda Decision (unanimous) UFC 146

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Win

Nam Phan Decision (unanimous) UFC 133

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States Loss

Rani Yahya Decision (unanimous) UFC: Fight for the Troops 2

Fort Hood, Texas, United States Loss

Diego Nunes Decision (split) UFC 125

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Win

Cole Province TKO (punches) WEC 51

Broomfield, Colorado, United States Loss

Manvel Gamburyan KO (punches) WEC 48

Sacramento, California, United States Win

Anthony Morrison Submission (rear-naked choke) WEC 46

Sacramento, California, United States Loss

José Aldo TKO (punches) WEC 44

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Win

Urijah Faber Decision (unanimous) WEC 41

Sacramento, California, United States Win

Leonard Garcia Submission (arm-triangle choke) WEC 39

Corpus Christi, Texas, United States Win

Urijah Faber TKO (punches) WEC 36: Faber vs. Brown

Hollywood, Florida, United States Win

Jeff Curran Decision (unanimous) WEC 34: Faber vs. Pulver

Sacramento, California, United States Win

Manny Reyes Jr. Submission (rear-naked choke) PXF: Premier X-treme Fighting

Hollywood, Florida, United States Win

Eben Oroz TKO (punches) HOOKnSHOOT: BodogFIGHT

Evansville, Indiana, United States Win

Yves Edwards Decision (unanimous) BodogFIGHT: Clash of the Nations

Saint Petersburg, Russia Win

Jason Bryant TKO (punches) AFC 19: Absolute Fighting Championships 19

Boca Raton, Florida, United States Win

Rocky Long Submission (rear-naked choke) KE: Kick Enterprises

Fort Myers, Florida, United States Win

Dustin Neace Submission (guillotine choke) AFC 18: Absolute Fighting Championships 18

Boca Raton, Florida, United States Loss

Masakazu Imanari Technical Submission (rolling kneelock) DEEP: 22 Impact

Tokyo, Japan Win

Takeshi Yamazaki Decision (unanimous) DEEP: 21st Impact

Tokyo, Japan Win

Taiyo Nakahara Submission (arm-triangle choke) GCM: D.O.G. 2

Tokyo, Japan Win

Renato Tavares Decision (unanimous) AFC 10: Absolute Fighting Championships 10

Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, United States Loss

Joe Lauzon Submission (rear-naked choke) CZ 8: Street Justice

Revere, Massachusetts, United States Loss

Genki Sudo Submission (triangle armbar) UFC 47

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Win

Leigh Remedios Decision (unanimous) AFC 6: Absolute Fighting Championships 6

Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, United States Win

Renat Mirzabekov Submission (heel hook) HFC 2: Hardcore Fighting Championships 2

Revere, Massachusetts, United States Win

Mark Hominick Submission (heel hook) TFC 8: Hell Raiser

Toledo, Ohio, United States Win

Shawn Graham TKO (punches) HFC 1: Hardcore Fighting Championships 1

Revere, Massachusetts, United States Win

Mike Large Submission (rear-naked choke) TFC 7: Fightzone 7

Toledo, Ohio, United States Win

Bill Mahoney Submission (rear-naked choke) MD 10: Mass Destruction 10

Swansea, Massachusetts, United States Win

Edward Odquina Submission (rear-naked choke) USMMA 1: Ring of Fury

Lowell, Massachusetts, United States Loss

Hermes França Submission (triangle choke) HOOKnSHOOT: Kings 1

Evansville, Indiana, United States Win

Vinny Brightman Submission (rear-naked choke) MD3: Mass Destruction 3

Swansea, Massachusetts, United States Win

Jeff Darienzo Submission (americana) MD1: Mass Destruction 1

Swansea, Massachusetts, United States