During International Fight Week in Las Vegas next month, the UFC is putting on four world title bouts and one interim title match.
In Travis Browne’s mind, though, it should be five title bouts. That’s because the 6-foot-7 Hawaiian sees his match with Cain Velasquez, which will kick off the main card of UFC 200 on July 9 at T-Mobile Arena, as a title fight.
Browne has been near the top of the heavyweight division for years, but hasn’t quite earned that coveted shot yet despite a 9-3-1 UFC mark and eight finishes.
The one failing Browne has had in a division where the title flips hands with regularity is losing at the wrong time.
Most significantly, he was routed by Fabricio Werdum on April 19, 2014, in a title eliminator bout, losing a stunningly wide unanimous decision. He was a 2-to-1 favorite to beat Werdum, but he lost and Werdum went on to capture the title.
He was also favored in his other two UFC losses. He was 4-to-1 to beat Andrei Arlovski at UFC 187 but was stopped in what turned out to be one of the great slugfests in the division’s history. And Browne was nearly a 3-to-1 favorite to defeat Antonio “Big Foot” Silva in 2012, though Browne was injured when he took that bout and was defeated.
But he was an underdog to Alistair Overeem and Josh Barnett and won both of those impressively.
Browne gives little credence to that. The competition is elite, and closely matched. And he said it is difficult for an outsider to fully comprehend what goes into getting ready to fight a world-class opponent.
“A guy made millions off a bumper sticker that said, [Expletive] happens,” he said. “For whatever reason, it’s worked out in my career that way [winning as an underdog and losing as a favorite]. There’s so much that goes into a fight and into a camp and leading up to a fight and even in the fight, it’s like, ‘Man.’ It’s not that I overlook guys. “[Expletive] happens, man. That’s how this sport is. You have a fight that you think is in the bag and it doesn’t work out. I’ve won a lot of fights I was expected to win, too. Things come up. I think what people love about this sport is the unpredictability.” Beating Velasquez, who has had two reigns as heavyweight champion, should make him the next challenger for the belt. Champion Stipe Miocic defends it against Overeem at UFC 203 on Sept. 10 in Cleveland.
“I feel like I should [get a title shot with a win],” Browne said. “I’ve said this before, but this is my championship fight. Situations happened and Cain lost the title to Fabricio, but I feel like he’s the toughest matchup in the division for me.”
It’s hard to know what to make of Velasquez. He burst into prominence in Cologne, Germany, at UFC 99 when he had an off-night and still defeated Cheick Kongo.
He’s been at or near the top of the heavyweight heap since. Since the win over Kongo, Velasquez has gone 7-2, with the losses coming in title fights to Junior dos Santos and Werdum.
But his body has taken a beating and he’s had innumerable injuries. There is a legitimate question whether Velasquez’s body can still perform after all the years of pounding it’s taken, in college wrestling, in the UFC and in the gym.
Browne, though, is under no illusions that he is facing an easy fight. He believes he’ll see Velasquez at his best.
“I don’t think any less of Cain because of his last fight or his injuries or anything like that,” Browne said. “He’s proven himself over the years. He’s won the title and defended it multiple times. I’m going in there expecting the best out of the man.”
The stylistic matchup seems tough for Browne. Velasquez is an elite wrestler who normally has impeccable cardio, and he can go and go and go.
Velasquez has heavy hands, as well, but everything is based off of his wrestling. Browne has worked tirelessly to improve his striking. He’ll have to keep Velasquez at a distance and not get into a clinch with him or have Velasquez get on top of him.
Browne has finished 13 of his 22 career MMA bouts in the first round, including wins over high-end talent such as Barnett, Overeem and Stefan Struve.
“I’ve been working on my consistency as a striker,” Browne said. “Everyone knows I have power and everyone knows I am explosive. What I think I was lacking was that straight consistency you need to win the big fights. I got out-struck by Werdum in 2014 and since then, I had that fight with Andrei that was crazy. It was only my second fight with [coach] Edmond [Tarverdyan] and we’re still learning.
“But we’ve been working on finding that consistency and not blowing my wad, so to speak, in the first minute of the fight. I feel like I’m seeing a lot of progress in that area.”
It will be important against Velasquez, who has been the UFC’s dominant heavyweight of the past six years.
A win for Browne may not get him that title shot he so desperately craves, but it won’t hurt his argument.
“You know, everyone knows how tough Cain is and how long he’s been at the top,” Browne said. “A win over him is a big deal. People notice wins like that.”
