Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC, PFL, Dana White’s Contender Series and “The Ultimate Fighter” live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app.
The 31-year-old Budokan Martial Arts Academy representative will confront Jared Gooden in the UFC Fight Night 194 co-main event this Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Brown has rattled off three wins across his past four outings and carries a 7-4 record inside the Octagon. He last appeared at UFC 261, where he submitted Alex Oliveira with a rear-naked choke in the first round of their April 24 encounter.
As Brown pores over the fine-print details associated with his forthcoming showdown with Gooden, here are five things you might not know about him:
1. His entry into MMA produced a high-water mark.
Brown made his professional debut at the age of 23 on May 16, 2014, as he submitted Steve Tyrrell with an armbar 1:53 into the first round of their Ring of Combat 48 pairing at the Tropicana Resort and Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey. It remains the fastest finish of his 17-fight career.
2. He has worn the bull’s eye.
“Rude Boy” laid claim to the Ring of Combat welterweight championship with a second-round technical knockout of Mike Winters at ROC 50 in January 2015. Brown made two successful title defenses—he turned away Rocky Edwards and Robert Plotkin—before he signed with the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
3. Resilience has become a calling card.
Brown has never suffered back-to-back setbacks as a mixed martial artist, having followed each of his four defeats—Michael Graves, Belal Muhammad, Niko Price and Vicente Luque were the perpetrators—with at least one victory.
4. Versatility defines him as a grappler.
The former Ring of Combat champion has five submission wins to his credit, and Brown utilized four different methods to secure them: two guillotine chokes, one rear-naked choke, one triangle choke and one armbar. Three of those submissions have taken place in the UFC. The victims? Oliveira, Warlley Alves and Erick Montano.
5. Metrics tend to favor him.
Brown owns the third-longest reach in the UFC welterweight division at 78 inches. Only Philip Rowe (80.5) and Neil Magny (80) surpass him. However, he will have only a one-inch reach advantage against Gooden—one of four current welterweights who measure at 77 inches. Kevin Lee, Shavkat Rakhmonov and Kalinn Williams are the others.