UFC veteran Matt Brown announces octagon return against Robert Whittaker conqueror  

It appears that UFC veteran Matt Brown is set to return to the octagon against Court McGee on May 13.

During an episode of MMA Fighting's The Fighter vs. The Writer podcast, the 42-year-old announced that he will be competing against The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) season 11 winner. The event will be headlined by a light heavyweight bout between Anthony 'Lionheart' Smith and Johnny Walker.

During the episode, Brown revealed that he was given the option of either fighting McGee or a younger fighter and he selected the former TUF winner. He mentioned that he respects McGee, who also happens to have a win over former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker.

Brown stated:

"They offered me a younger guy and then they offered Court and they said basically you can pick whichever one and I went for Court. I kind of played that card this time and to be honest, I think the younger guy may have been an easier fight. But this was the card I played this time so we'll see what happens."

'The Immortal' also revealed that he and 'The Crusher' have overcome similar adversity in their personal lives. He mentioned that even though he considers McGee to be a great person, his intentions will be the same as with all his fights:

"Court, he's a great guy, I've hung out with him before. Great competitor. We both have similar backgrounds in some respects. We both overdosed. He's really embraced that... So I've got a lot of respect for the guy but I'm ready to go in there and smash his f****** face in with my elbow."

Matt Brown and Court McGee are both coming off losses and will be looking to get back in the win column. It's a great matchup for both as 'The Crusher' is another experienced UFC veteran who is close in age to Brown.

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Matt Brown still motivated at this stage of his UFC career

Matt Brown has been competing in the UFC since his stint on season 7 of TUF in 2008.

During the aforementioned episode, Brown also spoke about his layoff since his loss to Bryan Barberena last March. It will be over a year since his last fight when he steps into the octagon on May 13.

However, Matt Brown is still motivated, and stated:

"You have a lot of motivation. You're with the f****** stars. The sky's the limit. We love this lifestyle so much I don't call that hard. What's hard is f****** life. That's why I've been out for the year. Life is a f****** b****."

Based on the lengthy layoff, it will be interesting to see whether it has a positive or negative effect on 'The Immortal's' performance when he fights McGee.