Home-field advantage may be highly coveted in the NFL and the NBA, but it’s not nearly as consequential in MMA. At least that is Mike Thomas Brown’s stance as he prepares to test that theory and defend his title in Corpus Christi, Tex., against native Texan Leonard “Bad Boy” Garcia.
“I don’t care if it’s in Texas, or Japan or on the moon,” said Brown, a Maine native who trains out of Coconut Creek, Fla., at American Top Team. “I’d rather fight at home, not necessarily because of the crowd, but because I like sleeping in my own bed, I like training at my own gym, eating the food I always eat at the same places. But I don’t care if it’s in (Leonard’s) backyard or somebody else’s backyard. Once you’re in the fight nothing matters. You just block it out.”
That is precisely what Brown will try to do as he journeys into hostile territory for his first title defense since upsetting WEC featherweight champ Urijah Faber last fall. Brown waged the stunner on his adopted home soil – in Hollywood, Fla. – and sent the local crowd into a frenzied cheer of “ATT! ATT!” It marked the finest moment in Brown’s up-and-down eight-year career.
“For me, it made the whole trip worth it,” said Brown, a college engineering grad who walked away from a steady paycheck and gambled on a pro career in MMA.
“It’s tough, it’s not easy. I haven’t made a ton of money in my career and I’ve had a ton of injuries. Sometimes you think, ‘Should I have done something a little safer with my life?’ I mean, I love my life but am I going to have a busted back and bad knees for nothing? It kind of makes it all worthwhile, so when I’m old and grey I can tell the kids, ‘Hey, at one time I was the best.’”
The milestone came at a price. Instead of heading to a nightclub to dance and party – which had been the plan – the new champ was whisked away to a hospital emergency room where he was diagnosed with torn rib cartilage that he suffered during the fight. Brown got home in the wee hours of the morning and proceeded to congregate at his residence with a select group of friends, though the festivities were a bit more tame than they might have been otherwise.
Nearly four months later, Brown said the rib feels fine and that after an intense, injury-free training camp he is better than ever. He surmises that some of his evolution is mental – a natural byproduct of becoming champ.
“I think I’m more motivated now than I was before,” the 33-year-old said. “In my head I’m thinking, ‘Dude, you’re the best in the world, so you better train like it.’ So I train like I’m the best guy in the world. I have to act like a champion because I know everybody is gunning for me now just like I was for Urijah.
“You hear this all the time, but I really am peaking well right now. I don’t know if it’s the confidence of my last fight or what’s going on, but I’ve never been this sharp. Everything is coming together and I’m really sharp in all parts of the game: My timing, my standup, my wrestling and my jiu-jitsu. So I’m really excited to see how this fight goes.”
It could be a dandy. The free-swinging Garcia, 16-3, has never been knocked out or submitted, has finished all of his opponents in victory, and is unbeaten since dropping to 145 pounds. Brown, 20-4, has stopped opponents inside of the distance 75 percent of the time and has won eight straight. The Brazilian jiu-jitsu brown belt under Ricardo Liborio seems to think that Garcia’s best shot at winning is on his feet, and no one should be surprised if Brown tries to take Garcia down and ground-and-pound him.
“I think he’s hungry and he’s a big puncher,” Brown said. “He’s a blood and guts type of fighter. He’s got a chin and he swings hard right until the end. He gets a little wild and crazy. He’s a fun fighter to watch. He’s got good power so I have to be careful not to be hit with one of his big shots. I mean, I’ve never really been beat up in one of my fights, but I’ve got to be careful. He is a little wild and falls off balance a lot when he throws hard. I don’t think his wrestling is very good, you know, that’s his weak point. Garcia’s not really a wrestler, he’s a jiu-jitsu/puncher. But he’s a tough world-class fighter and any time you’re fighting a world-class guy you better bring your ‘A’ game or you’re not going to win.”
Asked what he needs to do to emerge victorious, Brown had this to say: “It’s simple: Put my glove on his head and if it goes to the ground I need to be on top and look for my submissions. It’s real simple.”
Waiting in the wings for the winner of Sunday’s title bout is former champ Urijah Faber. Brown welcomes that potential rematch, eager to prove his win over Faber was no fluke, as some have suggested. Brown’s psyche on the night of that fight, or any fight for that matter, is interesting. He thought he could win against Faber; he didn’t know it in his heart. That is vintage Mike Brown.
“I thought I was going to win (against Faber) but I’m a realist, too,” Brown said. “I don’t ever think 100 percent that I’m going to win a fight. Even if the guy is a scrub I get nervous, thinking, ‘What if this guy hits me with a lucky punch?’ I’m always paranoid of losing and that motivates me a lot because I hate losing so bad. I know everybody is a threat. I’m not undefeated and there really aren’t many world-class fighters that are. I know that losing is a part of the game and I know it can happen. But I thought if I fight well like I know I can than I know I should win. I consider myself an underdog. But the fight game is crazy and you never know what will happen when you get out there.
“I really need this win to solidify me as the champ. You do have to defend the belt to be the champ. I guess anybody can have a good night and win a fight, but it takes a real champ to lock it down and hold onto it.”
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