Damien Brown waited 7 years to get into the UFC; he's not interested in testing free agency

AUCKLAND, New Zealand – Don’t count on Australia’s Damien Brown to jump on the free-agency bandwagon.

Brown (17-9 MMA, 2-1 UFC) faces Vinc Pichel (9-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) at this Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 110 event in Auckland, New Zealand, in what will be the last fight in his current contract. And he hopes to leave Spark Arena with a third win on his current streak and a fresh deal with the promotion.

“I’ve waited seven years to get in the UFC, man,” Brown told MMAjunkie ahead of the FS1-televised preliminary card lightweight scrap. “I’m not walking away. These guys testing free agency and all this kind of crap – that’s not me, man. I just want to sign a new deal. Get another fight.”

Being a UFC fighter is not a full-time occupation for Brown, who is also a prison officer in Australia. And for the military vet, the non-fighting gig is not just a way to supplement the income – but also something that he loves and misses during his fight camp breaks.

Still, he’d be willing to cut back if the numbers are right.

“As much as I like my job, I’m happy to get casual,” Brown said. “If the UFC comes with a deal worth going casual, that’s what I’ll do. Otherwise, I stay full-time and take time off.”

After dropping a unanimous decision to Alan Patrick in a short-notice UFC debut in March of last year, Brown bounced back with the first-round knockout of Cesar Arzamendia at UFC 201. He hasn’t fought since last November’s UFC Fight Night 101 in which he beat Jon Tuck via split decision.

The time away from the octagon, Brown explains, was mostly motivated by injuries and rehab. But in spite of being inactive, Brown has been having a pretty great time the past six months.

The reason?

“I’ve also had a baby,” Brown said. “My little boy is 10 weeks old this weekend, so it’s been nice. Obviously I was injured, but throughout the injuries, toward the end of the pregnancy – it’s been nice to able to take that opportunity. It kind of killed two birds with one stone.

“You don’t want to be healthy and sitting out. But I was injured and sitting out anyway, so we had the baby and spent a few weeks there. Man, he’s a little gem. He sleeps all night. It’s awesome.”

To hear more from Brown, check out the video above.

And for more on UFC Fight Night 110, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.