UFC Results: Will Former WEC Champ Mike Brown Be Cut By the UFC?

Along with a great night of fights at the Fight for the Troops, UFC Fight Night 23 saw what many are expecting to be the end of Mike Brown’s run under the Zuffa banner when the former WEC Featherweight champion lost a unanimous decision to Rani Yahya on Saturday night.

Both fighters came into the fight needing impressive performances to remain locks to stay on the UFC roster, but it was Yahya that came out on top. Using his grappling skills to neutralize Brown’s powerful hands, Yahya secured the victory in the judges’ eyes. All three judges scored the fight for Yahya with scores of 30-27, 29-28, and 29-28.

Many consider Yahya to be very one-dimensional, using primarily his grappling to grind his way to a 16-6 career record, but the win over a former WEC champion may be the crowning achievement in the 26-year old’s career.

Replacing Chan Sung Jung, who had to pull out due to injury, Brown took the fight on short notice following his loss to Diego Nunes on New Year’s Day at UFC 125. He has now fallen to 2-4 in his last six fights since losing his WEC title to Jose Aldo in Nov 2009.

Prior to that loss, the American Top Team fighter had been on a 10 fight win streak that included two wins over one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in the world, “The California Kid” Urijah Faber.

As UFC President Dana White said back in November, “It’s a dog-eat-dog world, there’s so many good guys out there, you’re literally fighting for your UFC life every time you fight.”

With Brown in a major career slump, there is definitely a chance that White and the decision-makers in the UFC may decide to cut ties with the former WEC champion.

Rumors have been circulating that Brown has been going through personal problems over the past few months, but that isn’t likely to be an excuse that the UFC will accept, as they expect their fighters to go out and perform at a high level regardless of their problems.

Brown has been competitive in most of the losses, particularly in the fight against Diego Nunes on New Year’s Day. He also possesses what many believe one of the most powerful right hands in the 145 lb division and has been involved in some great finishes. Unfortunately, Brown has been inconsistent in putting on exciting fights which could be one of the deciding factors on his future within the company.

Brown’s saving grace may be that he took this fight on short notice, which obviously shows his desire to get back up on the horse, but he has been fighting perhaps too often against tough competition with some dangerous stylistic matchups for him.

Still, Dana White is not one to look past losses, even from a fighter who was considered the consensus top 145 lb fighter in the world just 15 months ago. In fact, in a press conference prior to Saturday’s event, White mentioned the term “must-win” in relation to both Tito Ortiz as well as recent UFC Light Heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida.

With Brown not being a big draw for the company, the decision-makers in the UFC can't just look past this low point in his career. It’s looking very likely that Mike Brown has had his last fight in The Octagon.