UFC welterweight veteran Matt Brown is considering retiring after a potential final fight against Jim Miller at UFC 300, citing a desire to spend more time with his growing children and support up-and-coming fighters.
Matt Brown’s dream? Fighting Jim Miller at UFC 300. It’s his career’s final appearance.
He’s waiting. Waiting for the UFC matchmakers to give him the nod. Brown’s a 43-fight veteran. He’s got the most knockouts in UFC welterweight history. He’s hoping for that call. The call to compete at the historic event on April 13.
Miller asked for him. He did it after his win over Gabriel Benitez. That was last Saturday night.
Brown’s response? A resounding yes. And he’s thinking. Thinking about that night being his retirement.
“It would be an honor,” Brown said. He was on the newest episode of The Fighter vs. The Writer. He respects Jim Miller. But there’s a downside. Miller is a 155-pounder. He’d be coming up to Brown’s weight class. That could be an advantage for Miller. He wouldn’t be cutting weight. Brown would. But Miller would be the smaller guy. That takes a bit away from it.
Brown’s at the end of his career. If he gets on UFC 300, it could be his last fight.
Brown’s hinted at retirement before. Especially after his knockout of Diego Sanchez. That was back in 2017. Brown was dealing with a divorce then. He thought about hanging up his gloves for good.
But two years later, Brown was back. He’s added three more knockouts to his UFC résumé. His most recent win was over Court McGee. That was last May.
Retiring now feels different for Brown. It’s all about parenthood.
He thinks it’s a good chance this is his last fight. Life’s changed. His kids are growing up. He’s missing their events because of training. His son’s in wrestling season. He doesn’t want to miss his matches. He’s got up-and-coming fighters who need his attention. Some are future UFC fighters. He can’t help them much.
He’s got a lot going on. His passion for fighting is fading. Life’s taking him down a different road. It’s a different season of his life.
Brown sat out the second half of 2023. He wanted to spend time with his kids. They were back in school. Their extracurricular activities were picking up.
He’s got twin teenage sons. And a daughter not far behind them. He wants to focus on their futures. Not his fighting career.
“They’re at that age where they’ll remember if I was there,” Brown said. His boys are 13. His daughter’s eight. They’ll remember if he was at their matches. They’ll remember if he wasn’t.
They’ll remember going to UFC 300. But he’d rather they remember him at their matches. Not the other way around.
Brown’s been with the UFC since The Ultimate Fighter. He never picked opponents. He never turned down fights.
That won’t change. But he can’t think of a better ending than fighting Miller at UFC 300.
“There’s no anger, there’s no beef,” Brown said. “We’re fighters that want to fight. This works out well. It’s a good promotion for 300. It’s a good fight for 300. It’s easy for the matchmakers. We’re both into it. Let’s do it.”
He thinks they both deserve it. They both deserve that card. It’s a fun place to be. It brings a good fight to the card. He’s fine with opening the main card or closing the prelims. There’ll be a lot of people watching. Especially with their names closing out the prelims. He’d be stoked.
If he gets the matchup at UFC 300, he’ll have to decide. Decide if that’s the night he retires. But it’s looking like it.
“This might be it,” Brown said. “It would be an honor to fight a guy like Jim Miller to end it all.”
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