Matt Brown: ‘(Robbie Lawler) Better Knock Me Out'
Just weeks after beating Erick Silva in May, “The Immortal” Matt Brown got a quick turnaround and signed to face Robbie Lawler at UFC on FOX 12.
It's a fight that calls for the most grueling of training camps, and Brown said that describes exactly how hard this camp has been. Even welterweight standout Ben Askren came to help out, and his addition contributed to the grind.
“I haven’t trained this hard for any fight ever. It’s one of those things where I’m at the point now where I don’t even give a (expletive) anymore,” Brown said on The Great MMA Debate Podcast. “I’m just ready to go in there and fight. It’s at that point. I’ve been training so hard for so long for this fight that I’m just ready to finish this (expletive).”
Brown has built much of his reputation on being an incredibly tough fighter whose will has been some of the greatest in the history of the UFC welterweight division. No matter the fight, Brown comes to put on a war, and Lawler is similar.
Pairing the two in a cage fight excited most pundits and fans, and the ready-for-war approach from each is what Brown said prompted the UFC to put the two together.
“That’s why this fight was made, because he’s like that, too,” Brown said. “I think we’re going to find out (Saturday) if he’s really like that or not. I don’t know if he just likes fighting because he’s a warrior or he likes fighting because he doesn’t know what else to do.
“One thing about Lawler is he likes to stay on the feet; he likes to bang. He better (expletive) knock me out or I’m going to knock him out. It’s going to be one or the other. He better knock me out.”
Analysts have coined this fight to be Brown's toughest test to date. But in his personal opinion, Brown said that he's going to be the one administering the test this weekend at UFC on FOX 12.
“That’s one thing I like to pride myself on is I don’t know if I’m going to win or lose in any fight,” he said, “but I do know that I’m going to test you.”
With seven wins in a row, Brown has put himself in consideration for a title shot. This Saturday, he'll have to work his way past a former No. 1 contender. If he gets the job done, he'll find himself testing Johny Hendricks next for the 170-pound title.
But Brown will worry about that on Sunday.
“The last day of my life is (UFC on FOX 12),” he said. “I don’t have any idea what’s going to happen. I’m not looking past July 26.”
(Follow @Erik_Fontanez on Twitter | Photo courtesy of UFC)
