Mike Brown doesn't need the spotlight, just the belt
Mike Brown doesn't mind being overlooked. Though he has taken out two of the WEC's best -- Urijah Faber and Leonard Garcia -- and is the featherweight champion, he still faces questions about the legitimacy of his title. Even on Yahoo! Sports' pound-for-pound rankings, Faber holds the tenth spot. Brown does not appear in the rankings. So, did Brown get there by luck?
"I've been fighting world class guys for eight or nine years. I've gotten lucky 21 times now," Brown said.
True enough. Brown is ready to move forward, specifically to June 7, when he will defend his title against Urijah Faber. Brown is happy that the date, time and place has been finalized, but the opponent doesn't matter as much to him. He just wants to fight.
"To me it doesn't matter. I get motivated for every fight, no matter who it is. I get nervous that I'm going to lose. I hate losing, so I'm self-motivated that way," he said.
He feels that training with American Top Team gives him an advantage since they are so well-stocked with great fighters. After taking some time to recover from his win over Garcia on March 1, he has his nose back to the grindstone and thinks that he has grown as a fighter since he last met up with Faber in November.
"I'm actually training better in the last couple of months than I've trained ever before in my career," he said. "Before the Urijah fight, I wasn't training that well. I wasn't as sharp. The last six months, I've really been on fire in the gym. I'm a better fighter now than I was then."
