Matt Brown after UFC-Norfolk knockout win: Retirement decision can wait until later

NORFOLK, Va. – The question of whether Matt Brown’s highlight-reel knockout of Diego Sanchez at UFC Fight Night 120 will be his last will have to wait to be answered.

Brown isn’t ready to make the call yet, despite announcing that Saturday’s appearance would be his last in the octagon.

“To be honest, I’m not even thinking about it right now,” Brown told MMAjunkie after his FS1-televised win at Ted Constant Convocation Center in Norfolk, Va. “It’s not even really a thought in my mind. I’m thinking about enjoying tonight, and we’ll talk about it later.”

In the cage after his win, Brown (21-16 MMA, 14-10 UFC) said he would discuss the subject of retirement with friends and family before making a final decision. Until the final weeks prior to the fight, that appeared to be made. But then he walked back his declaration that he would call it a career after his meeting with Sanchez (27-11 MMA, 16-11 UFC).

A stellar training camp made Brown reconsider his end date. But there were also plenty of people telling him he shouldn’t hang it up.

“I’ve definitely had more people tell me not to retire than to retire,” Brown said. “But nobody other than me and my family really has any bearing on that – and close friends. So I’m not even going to allow anybody else’s opinions to get into my mind like that.”

Brown’s win not only added another impressive win to his resume. It also snapped a losing skid that likely motivated his decision to give himself one final chance of turning things around.

“Ending (the skid) feels good, but I felt like I needed a finish, because I wasn’t getting the job done, Brown said. “I had to at least show myself that I’m better than I’ve been fighting.”

Now that he’s done that, it’s hard to imagine Brown deciding he’s finished. But that’s a decision he’ll make for himself.

For complete coverage of UFC Fight Night 120, check out the UFC Events section of the site.