Brown Hungry For ‘Cheesesteak’

By Frank Curreri

Days after surrendering his title, Mike Brown’s lingering funk began manifesting itself as a hunger for redemption. So WEC matchmaker Sean Shelby offered the antsy former champ a Philly cheesesteak – as in a Jan. 10 date with Philadelphian Anthony “Cheesesteak” Morrison.

The Sacramento scuffle will represent an uncharacteristically speedy return to the cage for Brown, who fought an average of once every four months in 2009 and once every six months in 2008. He relinquished the WEC featherweight belt on Nov. 18 to Jose Aldo by second-round TKO and soon thereafter his representatives summoned Shelby to find an opponent for the WEC 46 card.

“If I win I take a little time off,” Brown said, “but when I lose I can’t wait to get back in there. I took a week off and then started training again. I just want to get back in there and get that loss behind me.” Watch preview of fight

Ground or Pound
The looming rendezvous with Morrison (15-6) is ripe with danger, especially since Morrison may well be as powerful as Brown and more athletic. Morrison is hoping to pull off the kind of upset that another sledgehammered slugger, Houston Alexander, scored when he knocked out Keith Jardine at UFC 71.

Like Alexander, Morrison’s ground game is suspect, as evidenced by the fact that he has been submitted in five of his losses. Yet despite being the heavy favorite in this contest, and having superior jiu-jitsu skills and far more big fight experience, Brown, whose mantra has always been “They’re all dangerous,” said he is not taking his next challenge lightly.

His to Lose
“He’s fast, he looks like he hits hard and he’s got good wrestling,” Brown said of Morrision, who boasts 9 wins via TKO. “He’s an explosive, good athlete. He just knocked out (UFC veteran) Alvin Robinson in like 40 seconds so he’s got some power in his hands. He’s dangerous for sure … but they’re all dangerous and I get nervous no matter who I’m fighting. ”

In rolling the dice against an unranked opponent, Brown (22-5) is shouldering nearly all of the risk in this bout. He has only lost once in the past four years, and a win or two would likely earn him a rematch with Aldo. Aldo beat Brown in one-sided fashion, and whether the Brazilian is a bad matchup for Brown or Brown simply had an off night remains to be seen. But Brown isn’t lobbying for any immediate rematches.

Crossing Enemy Lines
“I’m going to take one fight at a time and try to get back on top of the mountain,” he said. “That’s what I want. I’ll get back there.”

Sacramento fans mercilessly booed Brown six months ago, before and after he defeated hometown hero Urijah Faber. Brown doesn’t expect to feel the love this time, either.

“I hope so,” he said, “but they’ll probably wind up booing me again.”