5 Oz of Pain on CBSSports.com: The Matt Brown Story

In my latest submission for CBSSports.com, I have an in-depth human interest profile on rising UFC welterweight Matt Brown.

No, this is not some puff piece intended to hype a fighter up. This is an inside look at Brown’s life and what he had to overcome to not just make it into the UFC, but survive as a professional fighter.

Brown was candid in revealing to CBSSports.com that he sought out MMA as a way to leave a lifestyle behind that included drug and alcohol abuse.

“I was doing a lot of drugs and alcohol and just partying a lot,” Brown revealed to me during the article. “I needed a new hobby, so to speak. There were just a lot of negative things in my life and I needed to find something positive. I fell in love with the sport right away so it worked out perfectly.”

While most fighters that get signed by the UFC contain a strong pedigree that essentially makes them a blue chip prospect, Brown’s addition to the UFC ranks was an unlikely one considering his resume was more in line with what you would expect to come from a journeyman. As a self-aware man, Brown knew his place in the sport and at one point he considered an end to his full-time fighting career.

“(Right before The Ultimate Fighter 7) I just wasn’t making any money doing it and my record wasn’t really that great,” he revealed. “A lot of the fights I was losing were for stupid reasons and I felt that if I couldn’t do this 100 percent [then maybe I shouldn't do it]. I was 26 or 27 at the time and you’ve got to have steady income at this age. You can’t just be fighting for $500 every couple of months. … The opportunity with The Ultimate Fighter came up at the right time.”

In order to get the whole Matt Brown story, click here to read my full-length feature on him at CBSSports.com.