Former WEC featherweight champion Mike Thomas Brown isn’t ready to hang up his gloves just yet.
Brown, who was mulling retirement prior to UFC 146, had a change of heart following his dominant unanimous decision victory over Daniel Pineda. The 36-year-old signed a new five-fight deal with the UFC last week, and he intends to fulfill the life of the contract.
“The last couple of years were kind of rough on me. I had lots of injuries and I was feeling fatigued during training and fights,” Brown wrote on his website. “When you feel like this it takes all the fun out of being in the cage. I was starting to think that was going to continue. Going into the last fight with Pineda I was pretty certain that was going to be my last fight.
“I talked to my friends, family, and coaches. I told them how I was feeling and I told them I would make up my decision about retirement after the fight. This fight felt different, I felt great and I felt no fatigue,” Brown concluded. “I felt like I did when I won the belt in 2008 (and) 2009. I felt like I could of easily went 5 rounds and I had a lot of fun being out there.”
Prior to his recent career revival, Brown (26-8) dropped four of six bouts, starting with a crushing defeat at the hands of Jose Aldo at WEC 44. The loss snapped a 10-fight win streak that saw Brown rise from journeyman to WEC champion on the strength of two stunning victories over Urijah Faber.