Could Matt Brown go all the way??

Could we really see Matt Brown fight for UFC Gold?

by Jack Broadey @J3cK_b

If you asked that question a little over a year ago you would of seemed mental. It would of been a ludicrous story. Brown has had a fairytale ride lately, his whole life never mind his career has been a mix of massive lows followed by huge highs. On Saturday night he may of just reached the biggest high of them all. His name is now being banded about as a legit possible welterweight title challenger.

At 32 he has matured and finally settled into the best form of his life. His UFC career wasn't always like this though. His past story was revealed when he debuted on The Ultimate Fighter all the way back in 2007. His past drink and drug abuse came to a head when he survived a heroin overdose. "The Immortal" was born. He had moderate success on the regional circuit after realising he had to change his ways. He thought his career was over due to money issues until 'TUF' and the opportunity of a lifetime came along. 

He started life in the UFC very promisingly, defeating Matt Arroyo by stoppage on his official debut. He lost a controversial decision to Dong Hyun Kim before reeling off three straight stoppage wins, including going into James Wilks backyard and stopping him on the back of winning his own series of 'TUF'. That could have been as good as it got for Brown. A horrific 2010 culminated in losing his third fight of the year all by submission. In the space of nine months he had gone from 4-1 with only one harsh loss on his record to 4-4 with three successive finish losses.

 His submission defence had been called into question alongside his spot on the roster. Fans started calling for him to be cut. UFC officials thankfully disagreed and granted Brown another shot. He took his most vital fight to date against John Howard and showed all his mental toughness in a make or break fight. Brown won perhaps the most vital fight of his life that night. His troubles were not over though as his submission defence frailties came back to haunt him immediately. He couldn't get on another hot streak as Seth Baczynski made it four losses out of five. All finishes, all by submission.

 This is where Brown really turned his career around. He got back in the Octagon as soon as he could, desperate to prove himself. He reeled off three wins in six months to prove many of his doubters wrong including two knockouts and beating the much hyped Stephen Thompson. His Fox journey then started. Whether people liked or rated Brown no one could deny he was an exciting fighter to watch. Win or lose he consistently puts it all on the line. Joe Silva recognised this and gave Brown a spot on the free to air fox channel. Brown didn't disappoint and grabbed his chance with open hands. He came out swinging and impressively stopped Mike Swick.

 People were now starting to sit up and take notice. Brown had quietly turned his career around but this was his biggest win in front of his biggest audience by far. The win impressed UFC and Fox executives enough to give him a spot on the next fox card. This time against rising star Jordan Mein. Brown again came out and destroyed Mein winning fight of the night in the process. He was no longer going along quietly. He was now winning fights, not only winning them but stopping opponents impressively. He was now 5-0 since his resurgence. A step up in opponent was required. He was granted that again on Fox's new channel Fox Sports 1.

 He took on the Mike Pyle on Saturday night and made quick work of a tough fighter. He steamrolled through Pyle in just 30 seconds to win KO of the night and putting himself in the title picture. He immediately called for a title shot following his latest dominant win. It would be a true Cinderella story should he be granted it. Realistically he will need to win one more fight though. He may be looking towards the winner of Condit-Kampmann next Wednesday. Could you imagine the violence a potential Condit-Brown fight could bring?

 Whatever happens it guarantees to be one hell of a journey. Strap in and enjoy the ride. Brown is now 6-0 after his past struggles. That shows you can constantly get better in this sport. There is no substitute for pure hard work. Brown is perhaps the single best example of this I have ever come across. Never give up and work as hard as you possibly can and you can comeback from almost anything. Even near death. Brown is a great example for many young fighters out there today.