Matt Brown Decides to Retire After Long Career in UFC, MMA

Matt Brown’s first fight wasn’t against any opponent in an octagon. Brown nearly lost a battle with heroin before he ever threw a punch as a professional fighter. But once Brown got the bug for competing in MMA, he was able to navigate through persistent drug issues and money struggles to make it to the UFC.

Brown, who recently announced his retirement from the sport, had been a consistent presence in the UFC’s welterweight division since 2008. MMAfighting news shows that Brown had a colorful career that saw him fall just short of title contention. But in an era where the UFC grew exponentially, having Brown on the roster was important for the promotion.

Brown was a solid fighter who, on his best days, could trouble some serious contenders. While Brown also struggled with some inconsistencies due to his career path of getting into the sport late, he was also someone reliable the UFC could call on to fill a spot on the card.

Time to Do Something Else

Brown, 43, likely didn’t have many fights left in him. But Brown also hadn’t been active as of late. His last fight in the UFC was a knockout win over Court McGee last May in Charlotte.  Brown wrapped up his UFC career record with a 17-13 mark.

Overall, Brown finished with a 24-19 record, with 16 wins by knockout and six by submission. Brown often struggled with tough grapplers. He was submitted ten times over the course of his career.

Brown announced on X, formerly known as Twitter, that he was done with fighting.

“Not doing it again. I’m out,” Brown wrote. “That’s the announcement. My life will now be dedicated to serving others. Growing others in the martial arts and building businesses that can help the community and the world.”

While there have been many fighters who have retired and come back, it seems unlikely Brown will want to take this road. Brown has been faced with handling his personal baggage as well as fighting in the octagon. He likely could use a break from the stress.

Becoming The Immortal

Brown’s fighting moniker of “The Immortal” wasn’t a feel-good tale of him demonstrating some superhuman movement. Growing up in Jamestown, Ohio, Brown battled with a meth addiction and worked blue-collar jobs. During his early 20s, Brown overdosed on heroin but survived.

What drew Brown to MMA was tapes of Ken Shamrock fights. When he heard a friend was fighting, Brown made what he said was a cocaine-fueled trip to take the fight in. He was hooked and later trained at a Japanese jiu-jitsu gym before quickly moving into Muay Thai.

Brown won his professional debut, winning by submission over Ricardo Martinez in October 2005 as part of an organization called Higher Power Fighting. But Brown’s early days in MMA weren’t filled with triumphs.

After a loss to future UFC standout Chris Lytle in the United Fight League in August 2007, Brown’s record fell to 7-6. With money running out, Brown thought he may have to give up the sport.

Brown Stands out of TUF

Brown reached the semifinals on the reality show The Ultimate Fighter 7. He stood out enough among the people who competed in the series to earn a UFC contract. Once Brown reached the big stage, he proved he belonged by winning four of his first five fights in the promotion.

However, Brown hit rough waters not soon after beating James Wilks to improve to 11-7 in his career. Brown lost four of his next five fights, all by submission, to put himself on the verge of being cut. One that Brown was most disappointed with was a loss to Lytle, once again by submission, in a bout that saw him seeking revenge for the previous result.

However, Brown found something that shot him toward the top of the sport. While Brown had struggled to handle grapplers throughout his career, he saw major improvements, which led to the best stretch of his career.

Inches From a Title Shot

Everything changed for Brown in Las Vegas at UFC 143. The best MMA sites show that Brown’s knockout win over Chris Cope would launch a seven-fight winning streak. During that stretch, Brown picked up a decision win over Stephen Thompson.

Thompson would later go on to be a two-time title challenger at welterweight. Brown impressed everyone enough to be placed in a title eliminator fight with Robbie Lawler in July 2014. But as Brown prepared for the biggest fight of his life, he would face two of his largest professional disappointments.

Brown missed weight for the fight, then dropped a decision to Lawler. Lawler would go on to be the UFC welterweight champion. Brown never got close to title contention again.

Slow Decline Toward End of Career

Following the loss to Lawler, Brown continued to fight top-ranked competition. Brown would lose four of his next fights. Three of those would come to men who would win or challenge for a UFC championship, including Donald Cerrone, Demian Maia, and Johnny Hendricks.

Following a knockout win over Diego Sanchez in 2017, Brown has only taken six fights. He’s gone 3-3 in those contests. Brown had initially considered retiring following a UFC event near his hometown in Columbus, Ohio, but decided to fight again after losing a controversial split decision to Bryan Barberena. MMA breaking news said that Brown had previously talked about retirement before his fight with McGee but had also indicated he was still interested in continuing.

Brown is far from a Hall of Fame fighter, but he came along during a big surge in MMA’s popularity. Considering the demons he overcame to become a professional athlete, Brown likely inspired fans along the way to get involved or stay interested in the sport thanks to his battles, according to MMA latest updates.

Find all the latest boxing news and MMA breaking updates on boxingnews.com.

By Dean McHugh.