Mike Brown | vs. | Leonard Garcia |
20-4 | Record | 12-3 |
No. 1 featherweight, No. 10 pound-for-pound | Rank | No. 3 featherweight |
4-0 | (T)KO Record | 4-0 |
11-4 | Sub. Record | 8-0 |
5-0 | Dec. Record | 0-3 |
W-8 | Streak | W-2 |
144.5 | Weight | 145 |
5-6 | Height | 5-10 |
70" | Reach | 70" |
33 | Age | 29 |
American Top Team | Camp | Jackson's MMA |
Mike Brown will defend his WEC featherweight title against Leonard Garcia Sunday at 9 PM ET on Versus. The full preview is below.
What's at stake for Brown: Defending his belt. Even though Brown won a decisive first-round TKO victory over Urijah Faber to win the featherweight belt, a lot of MMA observers believe that Faber is truly the sport's best featherweights. Brown wants to show he's a legitimate champ.
What's at stake for Garcia: Proving he's one of the sport's elite 145-pounders. Since leaving the UFC for the WEC and moving down from lightweight to featherweight, Garcia has been absolutely dominant, destroying both of his opponents. But if Brown beats him decisively, some will point to Garcia's 1-2 record in the UFC as evidence that he's not really an elite fighter.
Brown says about himself: "I'm really strong for the weight class, that's for sure. ... I think my strength and power is my best attribute.
Garcia says about himself: "I have to win this fight. There's no other option for me but to win. Regardless of how the fight goes, It has to end with me winning."
Brown says about Garcia: "He comes out, swings hard and swings wild. He has good jiu jitsu, so he's fairly well rounded. He's a brawler and an exciting fighter. So I expect an exciting fight."
Garcia says about Brown: "I think it's no secret that Mike wants to try to take me down and control me on the ground. ... I think Mike will try to push me around, try to push me against the cage, take me down and hold me there."
Brown links:
FanHouse interview
Official WEC profile
Personal web site
Sherdog Fight Finder
Garcia links:
FanHouse interview
Official WEC profile
MySpace page
Sherdog Fight Finder
Video preview:
Prediction: Garcia has superior submission skills and could get Brown in trouble on the ground, but Brown is bigger and stronger and will pound out a TKO win in the later rounds of what should be a very exciting five-round fight.