Veteran UFC fighter Matt Brown has been out of action for over a year now following a KO victory over Diego Sanchez, and by the sounds of things the 37-year-old isn’t in a hurry to return.
Brown says in a new interview with BJPenn.com that he is currently focusing on his new gym, the Immortal Martial Arts Center in Columbus, Ohio, and it’s consuming so much of his time that the thought of potentially never fighting again doesn’t bother him as much as it used to.
“I’m just focusing on what I do and not really focused on the division on who is up there and who is doing what,” Brown said. “Just focusing on myself and being positive. I have a gym I am building so that is taking up a lot of my time. Not even really focusing on anything else.”
“It is harder than any other fight I have ever done. It is keeping me on my toes, keeping the adrenaline going high all the time.”
Nevertheless, Brown has admitted he’s still open to the possibility of fighting again, but he’s not rushing to do so.
“I’m hoping with this gym I won’t have to fight,” Brown said. “Hopefully, I can make a better decision because it is not based on want to, it is because I need to. I don’t really know anything else, so with this, I have something else. Ideally, that will be a long-term, sustainable financial thing and then I can make my own decision. Not based on emotion or not based on finances and actually make sure I have a desire to get back in there and fight.”
“It wouldn’t be the end of the world [if I didn’t fight again],” he added. “It certainly is tough, especially this last year going without fighting, and a really strange transition. It certainly wouldn’t be the end of the world. I am trying to be a step ahead of the normal athlete’s career, and we get towards the end and guys don’t know what to do. Or they are forced to quit.
“Whatever the different situation is, they end up retired or lost, or going broke. I know a lot of guys who get depressed, so I’m just trying to be one step ahead of that. That is the best I can do.”
