Recently, it was revealed that Stephen Thompson would follow up his impressive head kick KO win in his UFC debut by facing long-time UFC veteran Matt Brown at UFC 145. It was surprising news because, while not a world beater, Brown is talented, tough and versatile in a way that usually goes beyond what you'd put a blue chip prospect in the cage with.
Thompson is no combat neophyte though, having achieved high levels of success in kickboxing endeavors. But to Brown, Thompson's successes in situations such as the World Combat League simply don't matter.
Via MMA Weekly:
Middle Easy transcribed the quote:
Name me one guy that he fought. I can tell you the guys I train with [have fought] Saenchai, Malaipet, and Joe Schilling; guys that are well known in the kickboxing/Muay Thai world, on a world level… I’m not too concerned with this guy’s kickboxing. I can go 100-0 beating a bunch of idiots, but that’s not my style.
It's starting to sound like we may see a slightly more chippy version of Matt Brown than we're used to in the lead up to a fight.
0 recs | 70 comments
this is bound to be like bispings
‘what am i-an idiot? am i gonna just circle right into his (hendos) power? no.’
gspmademegay - February 13, 2012
Real classy Brown.
NickaG - February 13, 2012
Brown, you are just awful
Afrotikiman - February 13, 2012 via mobile
I know right.
Anyone can train to become a professional fighter and accomplish more than this scrub.
Crazynutts - February 13, 2012
You run that mouth, Brown. For real though I think this is winnable for him, and I wouldn’t mind seeing him get a streak going
jammin.. - February 13, 2012
So disrespectful, Matt.
FYI Thompson has notable victories over:
Fat Ninja
Tough guy #2
Laughing Biker
Karate Competitor #1
Karate Competitor #2
Gus Bonebreaker
Terrorist #1
Terrorist #2
Bald Terrorist
Al Leong
Al Leong wearing a bandolier
Beach Bully
Beach Bully sidekick
Beautiful Assassin Woman
A bag of cats
Werewolf Ninja Assassin
German Mechanic
menckenstein - February 13, 2012
yeah but...
the fight with Fat Ninja was overturned due to Thompson getting caught with weed metabolites in his system.
nannerb - February 13, 2012
Oh Lawd!
RolloTomasi - February 13, 2012
Was just about to comment on Al Leong..beat me to it. Good stuff.
RonSwanson - February 13, 2012
Really Matt?
BeefSupreme - February 13, 2012
Somewhere in there is Tobias Funke
magnetic - February 13, 2012
I don't see
Blue Man Group understudy #26
UncleMax - February 14, 2012
Someone messed with his dip.
RolloTomasi - February 13, 2012
Stephen Thompson is to kickboxing as Matt Brown is to tattoos
Earl Montclair - February 13, 2012
Matt.....
You just fought Chris Cope.
bigcountrysbeard - February 13, 2012
C-Murda would’ve beat the brakes off of Stittgen
Afrotikiman - February 13, 2012 via mobile
Yup, pretty much any welterweight would have.
Sweet Scientist - February 13, 2012
Common. Matt has some offence, and he is a bad mother -shut your mouth.
BUT his striking defense sucks. Chin is straight up, hands too low and no head movement what so ever. I haven’t seen “Wonderboy” more than I’ve seen Superman och Batman, but I’m pretty sure from his credentials that Brown wont walk all over him.
yonsson - February 13, 2012
Thompson's styles isn't exactly geared toward defensive greatness either.
I agree that Brown won’t walk all over him, but I don’t really see Wonderboy destroying him either. Thompson hasn’t fought anyone good in MMA yet, and his kickboxing record is a bit overhyped. This is a winnable fight for him but it’s a tough test.
Sweet Scientist - February 13, 2012
Agree.
Thompsons style is pretty straight forward. But Browns guard is crazy low….
However, Thompson trains under Carlos Machado, whom is also his brother in law, so he might be wicked on the ground. Or then again. He might still suck on the ground for all I know
: )
yonsson - February 13, 2012
F.U.B.A.R - February 13, 2012
Thompson has the Karate and Muay Thai to ***** him up standing
and enough wrestling / JJ to be comfy on the ground
Thompson all day
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ - February 13, 2012
I've been stuck on this comment for 5 minutes
Trying to figure out what 5 letter word you were censoring. Most of the stuff I’m coming up with is 4 letters. Ugh! What a mindfuck this is, Joe!
Baba Booey - February 14, 2012
I wanted Brown to beat Thompson
I always liked Matt Brown and I enjoy his fights A LOT (I know hes not that technical but hes exciting as hell)
but now, I want Thompson to knock his head off.
disrespecting your opponent is one thing, but calling all of his opponents “idiots” is just wrong.
by calling them “idiots,” he disrespected what thompson’s achieved and 60 other fighters.
thompson beat over 60 fighters while you got submitted 9 times in your career. and one of your submission loss is from a guy who has lost a fight due to not standing from butt scoot.
have some respect
DK_Monster - February 13, 2012
Well, to be fair to Brown, it's not like he's that far from the truth.
Apparently from the interview Thompson’s got a problem with him, as far as I understand that’s why he said that. Besides, his kickboxing record while impressive in sheer number of wins, is in a style that doesn’t have a great depth of talent or translates really good to MMA or straight kickboxing. I agree that callng his opponents idiots is a bit much but there’s some sense in what he says, the kid is a bit overhyped.
Sweet Scientist - February 13, 2012
North american kickboxing is pretty much a joke, to be fair.
You could be a 5x “world champion” in various karate/kickboxing competitions in the states, and a decently experienced journeyman from the european scene will probably still beat the brakes off of you.
lolumad - February 13, 2012
This. Even in his style (full contact, not kickboxing) the european scene is much more difficult.
Compare this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcvATLQtsNw
to this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxJWlBAeSfk
Sweet Scientist - February 13, 2012
Cecil Peoples
reffing in that first clip is amazing. Glad to see he always brought the same level of excellence to his work in the ring as he does now at the judges table.
dancharleton - February 13, 2012
I'm pretty convinced he just heard some noise, got in and found himself there trying to improvise some shit.
That’s the only way my brain can process the thought of Cecil Peoples.
Sweet Scientist - February 13, 2012
I wish he'd wear a 3 foot high purple top hat while reffing
UncleMax - February 14, 2012
Absolutely true..
and I say that as someone who’s competed on the NA scene.
skeebop - February 15, 2012
GSP and his trainer, Zahabi, said Thompson has the best striking they have ever seen, but what do they know? I used to like Brown too, but now I realize he embodies the state of Ohio.
rationalthought2012 - February 13, 2012
What does that even mean?
I am more confused than insulted as an Ohio resident but I would like it if you elaborated on your comment.
The Blackula - February 14, 2012
I got huge respect for GSP and Firas Zahabi.
But they were obviously hyping up a guy they trained with. Honestly, from what I saw, calling Thompson the greatest striker ever is one of the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6yek81uV6I
Serously that last flurry is godawful.
Sweet Scientist - February 14, 2012
I agree
I’m not saying that he is they best striker in the world, but I don’t think GSP would bring him up to Canada to train if he were just another kickboxer. Maybe Matt Brown is just trying to hype the fight, but I hope he eats his words.
rationalthought2012 - February 14, 2012
*the best striker
rationalthought2012 - February 14, 2012
Actually, it's quite mysterious to me.
I’m unimpressed by Thompson. He’s good at what he does, but in my opinion the full contact (what I call full contact is what the WCL does, with no low kicks) US scene is not so good (same way the european MMA scene is not on the same level as the US MMA scene).
Full contact doesn’t really translate well to MMA (especially the american style which is closer to karate than the european style, see the two video I posted above).
Last point 57 fights with 20 of them pro at 28 years old is not unheard of in kickboxing and full contact (it’s not uncommon for guys to have something like 70-80 pro fights at that age).
It’s definitely impressive that he’s undefeated in those fights but the footage available doesn’t scream world beater to me.
He looked good against Stittgen, but Stittgen may be the worst fighter I’ve seen on a UFC card recently. But I’m going with what I saw, he could be all he’s cracked out to be and I’m not there in the gym to see how he looks. I’m just saying that from what I saw the hype ain’t justified yet.
Sweet Scientist - February 14, 2012
Famous last words.
The Hamburger Pimp - February 13, 2012
I had the urge to post a bunch of lyrics from the 'My Chemical Romance' song of the same name
But I really don’t feel like listening to that song just for a joke.
consider yourself lucky.
Chris Groves - February 13, 2012
I think the Black Parade was actually a pretty decent album
It has a weird Manson meets Queen type sound.
discoandherpes - February 13, 2012
I agree, I liked a few songs off of it, this one included
I think I’ve just heard that one a few too many times…
plus, lyric-bombing isn’t that simple…I would have had to find a verse that was semi-applicable or had a good rhyme scheme etc etc etc.
Chris Groves - February 13, 2012
"consider yourself lucky."
I will!
The Hamburger Pimp - February 14, 2012 via mobile
Matt Brown is “The Immortal” because he’s escaped being cut by the UFC despite almost always losing.
Rob Young - February 13, 2012
Exactly
How many guys lose 4/5 fights against bottom-tier fighters and still have a job in the UFC?
alxn - February 13, 2012
Because WAR!
MicahtheCynic - February 13, 2012
Dan Hardy
RolloTomasi - February 13, 2012
even with Hardy you could argue that he was facing upper-echelon fighters
alxn - February 13, 2012
Casuals know Dan Hardy.
Casuals do not know Matt Brown.
sgiblin - February 13, 2012
He is a TUF vet,
that gives him some (perceived) name recognition.
Andy Davis - February 13, 2012
It's not perceived.
My friends who do not watch MMA know who Dan Hardy is. Albeit they call him “Mohawk guy”, but they still know him. They have no idea who Matt Brown is.
sgiblin - February 13, 2012
That's news to me.
Not that Brown is really all that well known, but I don’t think Hardy is all that well known. Maybe in England, idk.
ElliotMatheny - February 14, 2012
I don't know why.
But all of my casual MMA friends know who Hardy is.
sgiblin - February 14, 2012
That's surprising to me.
I guess he has headlined PPV’s and that card on Versus.
ElliotMatheny - February 14, 2012
Not exactly bottom tier
Other than Baczynski which I don’t think most expected him to lose to, he’s lost to Chris Lytle, Dong Hyun Kim, Ricardo Almeida and Brian Foster. Those are pretty solid opponents.
mouse9379 - February 13, 2012
I like this Matt Brown
Still hope Thomson continues his Machida-like rise up the ranks.
GreyedOut - February 13, 2012
Machida-esque
is Thompson’s rise up in the ranks Joe.
MPos - February 13, 2012
All this wonderboy stuff has me thinking of captain sunshine
some schmuck in texas - February 13, 2012
Really Matt Brown?
Did hes just say he could go 100-0 fighting idiots, he barely went positive pre ufc run, and wasnt fighting world champions
Sonnens Political Adviser - February 13, 2012
I agree but
he did TKO Douglas Lima
and that’s impressive.
RolloTomasi - February 13, 2012
I struggle to wrap my mind around that result
I need to see that fight. I can’t imagine Lima not smashing him in one round.
Rabbit915 - February 13, 2012 via mobile
Lima's first ever loss.
RolloTomasi - February 13, 2012
Lima was a WAYYY different fighter back then.
ElliotMatheny - February 14, 2012
So was Matt Brown
RolloTomasi - February 14, 2012
Matt Brown was 26, in his athletic prime and had been training 2 years longer than Doug.
Lima was 19, and that was only his 5’th fight.
ElliotMatheny - February 14, 2012
Matt Brown
Why don’t you sit these next couple of plays out huh?
Our Bovine Public - February 13, 2012
Matt Brown is Ignorant
Typical Ohioan.
rationalthought2012 - February 13, 2012
WTF
What did Ohio do to you people?
For all the crazy shit Chael Sonnen has said people didn’t turn around and blame his home state because of his actions.
Or is this just a matter of Ohio being an easy target to make fun of and therefor look cool by picking on a random midwestern state?
The Blackula - February 14, 2012
Relax, I’m just messing with you. Go Blue!
rationalthought2012 - February 14, 2012
I hope
Thompson kicks his head off his shoulders.
Even if it hits the ground I suspect Thompson can sub him.
taptomyarmbar - February 13, 2012
If he kicks his head off his shoulders, I’m predicting it’ll be a KO. TKO at the very least.
Baba Booey - February 14, 2012
You must Login with your SB Nation account and be a member of Bloody Elbow to post a comment.