Even at the age of 41, Matt Brown's love for fighting and the hunger to compete hasn't diminished one bit.
Still as fierce a competitor as ever, Brown feels age is just a number and looks forward to stepping inside the octagon to "hammer some heads." He'll have the chance to do so when he takes on Bryan Barberena this weekend.
Brown and Barbarena are set to collide in a welterweight clash at this weekend's UFC Fight Night event, set to take place at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. Heading into the fight, Sportskeeda MMA's Daniel Vreeland caught up with 'The Immortal' to talk about his love for the sport and how he manages to keep getting better at an age when most fighters fall from grace.
Brown said his love for the sport motivates him to keep training and improving himself as a fighter, even at the veteran age of 41. He also suggested that he can still beat any welterweight on the UFC roster on his day and is willing to prove the same this weekend against Barberena.
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"I knocked out three out of my last five but those two losses were really just kind of messes where I probably should've won those fights. I almost knocked out Baeza, but during coronavirus I wasn't training. I thought the world was coming to an end. I'm a f***ing idiot man. I listened to all the news and stuff and I was like, 'This is it, bro,' so I just ended up coming in on just two weeks' notice, completely untrained...They gave Condit the win but I felt like I won that fight... I'm still getting better, man. I could go back and beat both those guys right now. I could beat five from my last five so it's just a matter of if I show up that day and perform and I compete my best, I can beat all of these guys still."
Check out our exclusive interview with Matt Brown below:
Bookmakers brand Matt Brown the underdog against Bryan Barberena at UFC Columbus
According to Fight Odds, Matt Brown opened as a +160 underdog heading into his upcoming fight against Bryan Barberena. Barberena, meanwhile, is a -195 favorite.
It's incredible that even in the twilight stages of his career, Brown is being seen as closely matched by bookmakers against a fighter almost a decade younger than him. It's a testament to Brown's dedication and love for the sport.
Brown has won three out of his last five fights inside the octagon. He took victory in all three fights via stoppages.
Barberena, meanwhile, has won two out of his last five fights inside the octagon. In his last fight, he picked up a unanimous decision win against Darian Weeks in December last year.