If Matt Brown had his way, he’d get a chance to do the unthinkable.
History was made at UFC Charlotte earlier this month (May 13, 2023) when Brown, 42, entered the Octagon opposite his fellow Welterweight veteran, Court McGee. Scoring a one-punch knockout in round one (watch highlights), Brown (24-19, 17-13 in UFC) tied UFC Heavyweight contender, Derrick Lewis, for the all-time knockout record in UFC at 13.
Throughout his thrilling 43-fight career, Brown has been almost exclusively a Welterweight but has had fights as high as Middleweight. After tying the record for UFC knockouts, the “Immortal” believes he has the perfect idea for how to break it.
“When you talk about wanting to fight again, it is a lot about the date and the injuries,” Brown told Believe You Me. “For my next fight, what I would really like, and I highly doubt it’s gonna happen, but I would love to fight Derrick Lewis. I’d love to go up to Heavyweight. Bro, you’re in, right?
“This would be the funnest fight ever,” he continued. “For the KO record. It’s winnable. It’s certainly winnable for him (laughs). Like, if I get touched I’m f—king going to the hospital that night, but he’s got to touch me, bro. Heavyweights, it’s harder for them to hit you, man. You can dodge their punches pretty well. They have a hard time dealing with us [in sparring]. I would love that challenge. I would get on my knees and beg [UFC President] Dana [White] for that.”
Unfortunately for Brown, he’ll have to wait until the end of the year for any hopes of making such a fantasy pairing a reality as Lewis is booked to fight Marcos Rogerio de Lima at UFC 291 on July 29, 2023. With the return of the Baddest Motherf—ker (BMF) title and a myriad of wacky boxing bouts (including Brown’s coach, Mark Coleman, unretiring), anything truly is possible in 2023. Ultimately, Brown’s recent record-tying effort acts as a nice badge of honor.
“Honestly, the only cool thing about it is I feel like I’ve been doing this a long time, I’ve put a lot into this and I feel like I’m way better than I’ve even achieved,” Brown said. “I feel like I’ve underachieved and I could have done a lot more. I made a lot of mistakes and a lot of things. So when I tied that record with Derrick Lewis, I felt I got a lot of recognition that I felt was kind of lost and that I felt I’ve deserved for a long time. But you have to go earn it. You don’t really get what you deserve, you get what you earn. I feel like I went out and finally earned it.”