After 'retiring for the holidays,' Matt Brown unsure if Carlos Condit fight will be his last

Often when fighters announce their retirements, they point to their families as part of the reason behind the decision.

That’s understandable. Not only is the life of a fighter one that demands dedication – from the restrictive diets to away-from-home fight camps – it’s probably kind of difficult watching someone try to punch, kick and elbow a loved one in the face.

In Matt Brown’s case, though, the situation was a little bit different. After announcing his retirement from MMA, it was his decision to return to competition that was met with enthusiasm by his family.

Or at least by a specific portion of it.

“(The) kids love me fighting,” Brown told MMAjunkie Radio. “They were jumping up and down when I told them I was fighting again. They were like, ‘Yes, yes’ and pumping their fists and shadow-boxing. They’re all about it. They want to see me fight, and they want to see me beat people up. So, they’re excited.

“I think the more adult family – it’s kind of up in the air. We see the pros and the cons. My wife certainly enjoys more time with me. But she likes fighting, too. She likes to see me accomplish what I set out to do. So we’re in it together.”

In a re-booking of a 2013 bout that fell through, Brown (20-16 MMA, 13-10 UFC) is set to meet former interim 170-pound champ Carlos Condit (30-11 MMA, 7-7 UFC). While it hasn’t been confirmed, MMAWeekly reported April 14 as the date for it to go down.

The news that Brown’s three-month retirement was about to end wasn’t met with that much surprise. After all, though he had first announced that his UFC Fight Night 120 meeting with Diego Sanchez was to be his last, his comments immediately before and after the fight didn’t really convey that much confidence in the decision.

And, after the way the fight went down, who can blame him?

While he “was on the cusp,” Brown never pulled the trigger when it came to effectively terminating his career. Although he hasn’t been tested since his last fight, for instance, he says he never left the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency’s testing pool. He never suspended his contract. And he made sure that UFC matchmaker Sean Shelby knew there was some wiggle room.

“I said, ‘Keep offering fights. If the right thing comes up, I will come right back,'” Brown said.

Clearly, Shelby obliged. Condit, it turns out, wasn’t even the first temptation to appear on Brown’s radar. As Donald Cerrone already mentioned, “The Immortal” had been considered as his fellow headliner for UFC Fight Night 126. Brown, who’d been knocked out by “Cowboy” in late 2016, wanted the rematch, but the timeline ended up not working out.

“Because of my retirement, I wouldn’t be able to make the weight that quickly,” Brown said.

All the pieces, however, ended up coming together in favor of the Condit re-booking. And given the welterweights’ well known propensity for striking wars, it’s safe to say the MMA community wasn’t too upset about how it panned out.

Brown, too, wasn’t mad. In fact, had it not been a name like Condit’s, he might not have stepped out of retirement at all. Unlike some of his un-retired peers, who perhaps realized the grass wasn’t as green on the other side, Brown actually had his anxieties about stepping away mitigated once he did.

“That was the big thing with the whole retirement. It really scared me, the thought of retiring,” Brown said. “It was a really nerve-wrecking thing. And I had no idea what I was going to do. So I just kind of had to make it official – which turned out not to be official, but at the time it was official. And I’m not so scared. I had lot of opportunities come up. I’ve been doing a lot of work with MusclePharm, specifically.

“… Just a lot of opportunities came up that I guess I just didn’t realize were out there, because I’ve always been so hyper-focused on the fighting. And it just made me feel a lot more comfortable with stepping away from the sport. Just realizing there’s another world out there, and I can handle that, and I could be content with that.”

Like he did ahead of his meeting with Sanchez, Brown is reserving himself the right to not make any definitive statements on his career. If the Condit fight falls through, for instance, and he has to take on an alternate opponent, he’ll cross that bridge if he gets there.

The same goes for his post-Condit future.

“A lot of it is going to depend on how I feel throughout the camp,” Brown said. “That’s really the big thing. Specifically, when I announced the retirement, I had this fight with Diego, and my body was hurting real bad and just not getting into shape the way that I had when I was younger. My mindset wasn’t really there to take the kind of abuse that I’ve been taking.

“But it turned out to be an amazing camp. I surrounded myself with the right people, and I felt amazing during the whole camp and amazing during the fight. I’m going to keep the same people around me and assuming things go as well throughout the camp. …

“Irrespective of whether it’s a win or loss, if I feel that good again in camp, I’m going to keep fighting.”

And what if the camp isn’t that great?

“If my body doesn’t hold up, if I can’t mentally push through some of these sessions and feel motivated and hungry, then – regardless of a win or a loss, I’ll probably stop again,” Brown said.

Of course, decisions about his future are Brown’s prerogative, and he owes explanations to no one. Still, he’s not above making fun of a short retirement even by MMA standards.

“I retired for the holidays,” Brown joked. “Starting the new year off back with a new fight, man. New outlook. New determination. New will. We’re back, man. Let’s do it.”

For more on the UFC’s upcoming schedule, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.

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