Brown Back to Climb WEC Featherweight Ladder, One Rung at a Time

Mike Thomas Brown has been to the top of the mountain in the sport of mixed martial arts, compiling a 10-fight winning streak en route to winning the World Extreme Cagefighting featherweight championship and a spot in the pound-for-pound top 10.

However, knockout losses to current WEC champion Jose Aldo and top contender Manny Gamburyan in the span of three fights have pushed Brown back down the ladder. The 35-year-old hopes to start another climb towards a title shot at WEC 51 on Thursday, when he takes on the once-beaten Cole Province at the 1stBank Center in Broomfield, Colo.

“I’m ready to go,” Brown said during a recent appearance on the Sherdog Radio Network’s “Savage Dog Show.” “I’m about as excited as I can be at this time. I’ve got to get the weight down a little bit, and then I’ll cruise to the finish line.”

Based at American Top Team in Coconut Creek, Fla., Brown has not competed since falling to Gamburyan at WEC 48 in April. A native of Portland, Maine, he has not lost consecutive fights since he was submitted by Genki Sudo and Joe Lauzon nearly six years ago. A potent ground fighter, Brown has scored 13 of his 23 career victories by submission and four by way of knockout. Wins over former WEC featherweight champion Urijah Faber (twice), UFC veteran Leonard Garcia, Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt Jeff Curran and ATT teammate Yves Edwards highlight his resume.

Though disappointed by his second-round knockout loss to Aldo, Brown concedes he was not surprised someone came along and knocked him off his WEC perch.

“I’ve always been motivated and never have had a going-through-the-motions attitude,” said Brown. “I knew [the Aldo loss] could happen. If you fight long enough against tough guys, it’s going to happen. Nobody goes undefeated in this sport. I was bummed, but I knew I just needed to put a winning streak together to get back there. It’s part of the sport.”

The first step on the way back comes in the form of Province, a four-time national wrestling champion at the University of Central Oklahoma. The 29-year-old Province last appearance ended in a 54-second submission victory over Nick Masters at Bricktown Brawl 5 in Oklahoma City in June.

“[Province] is a high-level wrestler with a short career so far,” Brown said. “He’s only had eight fights, with one loss. He’s tough. His only loss is a decision to [world-ranked featherweight] Diego Nunes [at WEC 37 in December 2008]. He’s no joke and is a good athlete.”

Province has earned all six of his wins by submission but has not competed in the WEC since he received a nine-month suspension from the Nevada State Athletic Commission following a positive test for the anabolic steroid Methasterone at WEC 42 in August 2009. He was flagged in the wake of his decision victory against former Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion Fredson Paixao. The result of that bout was changed to a no contest by the NSAC, which also fined Province $4,000. He claimed the positive test was the result of a tainted supplement, which he used “on a whim” to help him rehydrate.

Brown said he was not worried about Province’s history of testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs.

“[Using PEDs] probably can help you, but I’m not sure how much they can,” said Brown. “You can’t put on too much muscle or you won’t make weight. It’s more appealing for heavyweights since they can put on 20-30 pounds without missing weight, but for lighter-weight guys, it’s more dangerous. I’m not concerned. He has to make the weight, and if he gets too big, he can’t make the weight.”