Mike Brown’s Blog - Picking Machida…

(Editor’s Note: WEC Featherweight Champion Mike Brown will be periodically blogging his training camp adventures as he prepares to defend the title against Urijah Faber on June 7 at ARCO Arena.)

By Mike Brown

It’s going to be an exciting weekend in the sport. Some people have questioned whether Rashad Evans and Lyoto Machida will put on an entertaining fight. I think it’s going to end up being a lot of fun to watch. For what it’s worth, I’m taking Machida. He’s just so tough to hit and hard to deal with. He bounces around, gets in and out quickly, and is really effective by simply throwing one strike at a time. It’s literally one punch and he’s out. I’m not taking anything away from Rashad, but my gut says Lyoto win will the title.

After UFC 98, I’m sure the MMA world will be looking forward to my fight with Urijah. I can’t begin to tell you how bad I wish we could fight today. Training is so tiring and I’m at the point where I just want to fight now. That’s how I always feel at this point in camp. I’ve paid my dues in the gym, sparred a ton of rounds, and grappled for days on end. Now, I just want to get down to business.

I’ve also reached the point where it’s time to cut calories and begin leaning out. No fighter ever enjoys cutting weight, but I tend to get lean pretty quick. It will only take me a week to get down to where I need to be. I know that I’ll be ready come fight week. I just have to give the chicken wings a rest for a few weeks, haha.

Although camp is winding down, I’m still pushing pretty hard in the gym. But I’m trying to balance it out with ample rest. I tend to go hard the first day, take it easier the next day, go hard again, and so on. That allows me to get solid training, but not overwork my body.

Other than balancing my routine and doing a lot of good media, I’ve spent some time studying tape. Early on in this camp, I really just focused on pushing myself and improving my overall game. Now, I’ll take the time to watch some tape of Urijah and go over it with my coaches. My striking coach will give me instruction on how Urijah’s standup has progressed, while my wrestling coach will take me through the ground aspect. We’ll just go over the details so there are no surprises on fight night. And if there are, we’ll still be ready to score a knockout or submission. We don’t play the excuses game at ATT.

Time for me to head back to the gym, followed by some more radio interviews. I’m really counting down the days to June 7. I’m ready. I’m going to Sacramento with my belt and I’m planning on leaving with it.