Mike Brown

Brown's opponent, noted leg-lock expert Masakazu Imanari, dislocated Brown's leg to the point that his leg was pulled out and to the side of his knee joint. His only other Pre-WEC losses were to world-class fighters; besides Imanari, only Joe Lauzon, Genki Sudo, and Hermes Franca (all UFC veterans) had defeated Brown en route to Brown's 18-4 record.

Riding a six fight win streak, Mike Brown signed with the WEC's 145 pounds division. His first fight in the WEC was against jiu-jitsu expert Jeff Curran at WEC 34. In each round, Brown matched Curran's stand-up and then took him down and scored from the top with elbows and punches. Brown won all three rounds en route to a unanimous decision victory.

Brown was then offered a shot at the WEC Featherweight Championship with a fight against Urijah Faber at WEC 36. The fight was originally set to take place in Hollywood, Florida on September 10, 2008, but it was postponed to November 5, 2008 due to Hurricane Ike. At the time, Faber had held the title for over two and a half years and was widely considered to be the best fighter at 145 pounds in the world. Brown welcomed the opportunity to fight the best in the world and felt that his training with American Top Team had prepared him well. When the heavily favored Faber attempted a risky elbow strike, Brown countered with a right hook to the jaw, knocking down the champion. Read Less