Matt Brown explains why he's against UFC fighters like Anthony Smith announcing retirement fights
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Anthony Smith announced his plans to call it a career this past Saturday night, long before he suffered a first-round TKO loss to Zhang Mingyang in the UFC Kansas City co-main event.
The 50-fight veteran planned his retirement, while working with the UFC on the timing and location, and it worked out perfectly since he spent a lot of his career training in Kansas City with his home in Omaha, Neb., only a few hours away. Sadly, Smith's final fight ended with blood pouring down his face from an elbow that split him open before Zhang unloaded a barrage of punches on the ground.
It certainly wasn't the ending Smith wanted, but fellow UFC legend Matt Brown believes that's always the likeliest outcome when fighters make these grand gestures while declaring plans to retire after an upcoming fight.
"Dana [White] has said it before, and I actually agree with him, if you're already thinking about it, you should just stop now," Brown said on the latest episode of The Fighter vs. The Writer. "Something along those lines.
"That's why I'm not such a fan of guys planning their retirement fight. I get it. Some guys like Robbie Lawler, they handle it well and still go out there and get it done, but I think when you've already got a foot out the door, you're probably going to be fighting a guy with two feet in the door. So it's going to be a problem."
Brown knows from 15 years' experience in the UFC that every fight comes with the inherent risk that the worst could happen at any given moment.
The danger gets ratcheted up even more when one fighter is preparing to ride off into the sunset while his or her opponent is still in the midst of a career that's going strong.
"The UFC hasn't had anyone die from a fight that I know of, but it happens," Brown said. "Our life is truly on the line in there, and I don't think it's a good thing to go in with a foot [out] the door, which was a part of my retirement.
"I was like, if I've got a foot out, I'm not going to go in there with a guy with both feet in. You're risking a lot, especially when you've got kids and stuff."
When Brown had his final fight in the UFC, he had no idea that it would be the last time he'd make the walk to the octagon. He scored a vicious knockout over Court McGee but didn't decide to retire until a year later when he got the call from the UFC for another fight and just didn't feel that same enthusiasm and excitement to compete that drove him for so much of his career. That's when Brown decided it was the right time to walk away.
While he understands why fighters like Smith want to have that last hurrah, Brown has seen way more sad endings in defeat than celebratory wins.
"It's just a different mentality," Brown explained. "You can absolutely go in [thinking] I'm going to leave it all in there, it's my last time and everything. But the guy you're fighting isn't thinking that way. He's in there thirsty for blood, and he's in there to try to get to a championship, and he's in there to make money and all this shit. You know the old saying, it comes from boxing, you walk up the stairs in wooden shoes and you walk down the stairs in silk slippers. That's kind of what you're seeing in these situations.
"We've got other things going on, making money in other ways, our brand is out there, the name's out there, and it's like this isn't full focus anymore. Again, some guys can handle that properly, like Jon Jones. I don't think he has to have both feet in the door to be out there legendarily beating other legends. He just doesn't have to. Most of us, we have to. I've never really been too big of a fan of that."
Rather than setting the stage for a retirement fight, Brown prefers that athletes just realize that the end is near and perhaps calling it a career sooner than later is a better course of action.
Of course, Brown knows that Smith isn't alone when it comes to these kinds of moments in the UFC, but he just wishes fighters would take into consideration all the factors and possible outcomes before setting the stage for a potential disaster.
"When you do start voicing it, or you are even having that thought in your mind, you're going in against a guy that is in a completely different mindset for the most part," Brown said. "I mean, I'm sure there are some guys who fight just to fight or whatever, but most likely you're going in there against a guy thirsty for blood and wants to make money and wants all those big things. If that's not where your mindset is, you're going to be a step behind. It's just a fact. I don't think you can say it any different.
"You're going to be a step behind when that guy is thirsty for everything, and you're kind of like, 'This is my last time, I'm going to leave it all in here.' But are you really? What are you leaving it all in there for? For your f*cking legacy? This guy is leaving it all in there because he wants to move up. You're leaving it all in there so that you feel cool, and feel like you did a great thing or whatever, your motivation is totally different. It's just not a good mindset, in my opinion."
