Matt Brown I thought he would have a dream retirement scenario to end his MMA career. Unfortunately, it didn’t happen that way.
Brown announced on Saturday that he was hanging up his UFC gloves following a 28-fight season with the promotion in which he went 15-13 and accumulated a number of notable records, including the most knockout victories in the history of the UFC division. welterweights.
“The Immortal” hadn’t fought since May 2023 and had been seriously considering leaving for some time. However, he maintained that he could have one last dance at last month’s monumental UFC 300 card in Las Vegas. Brown said he hoped to get a contract to fight Jim Miller in what would be his retirement fight, but the promotion decided book Miller against Bobby Green insteadand that marked the nail in the coffin for Brown’s decision.
“The only thing I was really hoping for was I thought I was going to come into UFC 300 and fight Jim Miller, and I was going to use that as my farewell,” Brown told MMA Junkie Radio on Monday. “I was determined with this: I’m going to fight Jim Miller at UFC 300, that would be the most badass farewell ever, fighting a legend like Jim Miller on the biggest card in UFC history, and they didn’t make it. that happened. So I thought, ‘Well, fuck it then.’
“I’m not bitter by any means, but if there’s one thing that bothered me, it’s that I couldn’t get to 300 because that’s how I wanted to finish. I begged to get 100. I begged to get 200. I begged to get 300. I was like, ‘Man, I haven’t won anything yet.’ I tried everything I could and thought it was set in stone. I was literally training to fight Jim Miller. He said he wanted to fight me; I said I wanted to fight him. I thought all my cards were in place and it would be an easy decision, but that didn’t happen. It would have been the perfect goodbye for me. I’m sure the UFC has its reasons, whatever they may be.”
‘No bitterness’ towards UFC
Brown clarified that he “does not have any resentment” towards UFC bosses and emphasized that he was treated well during his almost 16-year tenure at the company. In fact, he was recently offered a fight against Max Griffin for an upcoming event, but when the offer arrived, he had already mentally left the idea of competition.
“The UFC made me an offer a few months ago for a fight,” Brown said. “I remember waking up one morning and seeing the email, and my dick didn’t get hard. I didn’t feel anything in my spine. I wasn’t excited. I was like, ‘Man, I could use that money. That would be cool. But I just wasn’t excited about it. That was probably the first thing. Then secondly, (I’ve been) flipping houses and running a gym now. I have a good team of people and employees at my gym. I really feel like I’m selling to these people because I’ve been struggling, and these companies aren’t growing as much as they could because I’m not putting that kind of energy into it.
“I’m just looking for that quick buck, making money fighting. My guys at my gym have been with me for the six years I’ve owned it. They got very small raises all the time. I feel like I can make a lot more money, not just for myself, but for them as well. We have a lot of clients that I can’t go out and talk to. I just feel like I’m missing a lot of people, including my family. My kids – the ability to be present with them and the ability to spend time with them, things like that.”
May 13, 2023; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Matt Brown (red gloves) celebrates after defeating Court McGee (blue gloves) in a welterweight bout during UFC Fight Night at Spectrum Center. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports
Fight outside of MMA?
At 43, Brown struggles to see a path back to fighting in his future, although he hasn’t completely ruled out the possibility. The idea of fighting in the UFC is over, he said, and he has already been removed from Drug Free Sport’s drug testing pool.
Brown said he is open to offers from non-MMA entities, but the dollars have to make sense.
“That’s not out of the question,” Brown said. “I talked to these people a little bit (at BKFC). It’s not completely out of the question. Bareknuckle doesn’t excite me much because it’s just boxing with your hands, which doesn’t excite me much. But obviously I’m not going to turn down a big payment. I wish there was a Muay Thai promotion that paid that much money, like a ONE championship or something. What excites me most is Muay Thai. That’s what I like to do most. I wouldn’t say it’s completely out of the question. But my mindset isn’t really focused on fighting right now. It’s really in the business mindset.
“If the number was right, and I don’t think any of these places would give me that number. If it was Floyd Mayweather or something and I got paid $5 million, $6 million, of course, I’m not going to turn it down. But anything under $1 million doesn’t even make sense to me.”
