Mike Brown – MMA Coach
| DOB: | September 8th, 1975 |
| Age: | 47 |
| Place of Birth: | Portland, Maine, U.S. |
| Gym: | American Top Team |
| Location: | Coconut Creek, Florida |
| Height: | 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) |
| Weight: | 145 lb (66 kg; 10.4 st) |
| Weight Class: | Featherweight, Lightweight |
| Sport: | Brazilian Jiu Jitsu |
| Martial Arts Background: | MMA |
| MMA Record: | 26-9 |
| Notable Fighters: | Dustin Poirier, Jorge Masvidal, Kayla Harrison, Joanna Jędrzejczyk |
Contents
Mike Brown’s early MMA career
Mike Brown got into MMA after finishing his amateur wrestling career at Norwich University, where he excelled in academics. He would have his first professional bout in 2001 that he won by submission.
Brown would go 9-1 in his first 10 fights before his first fight in the UFC. Losing to Genki Sudo by submission in 2004.
Then for the next 4 years, Brown would continue fighting on various promotions before getting a fighter offer from the WEC.
Mike Brown’s WEC/UFC run
Mike made his WEC debut riding a 6 fight win streak in 2008. He would face veteran Jeff Curran in his first bout and win by decision.
After the fight, he was immediately offered a title shot against featherweight champion Urijah Faber. The reigning champion was heavily favored, but would be knocked out by Brown in the very first round.
He would go on to defend the title two times before losing it to Jose Aldo. Brown would go 6-2 in the WEC before the company merged with the UFC.
In the UFC, Brown would go 2-3 in three years before retiring due to injuries.
Mike Brown’s new role as coach
With his fighting career over, Mike Brown would stay on at American Top Team and become an MMA coach. This would turn out to be a role he was made for
In 6 years, Brown has cornered numerous high profile fighters. Including former interim UFC lightweight champion Dustin Poirier and flyweight champion Joanna Champion.
The success of his fighters quickly started to gain Mike Brown recognition as one of the top MMA coaches in the sport. He has become a fixture at some of the biggest MMA events cornering the sport’s top fighters.
With his stable of fighters growing along with his reputation as a top coach, Brown will continue developing his coaching skills. Coaching some of the best fighters to the world and adding to his resume.
Notable Fighters
At American Top Team, Mike Brown has become one of the premiere coaches at the gym. Heading training camps for some of the world’s best fighters. Here are a few of the big names he coaches.
Dustin Poirier
One of Brown’s top fighters is the pride of Lafayette, Louisiana and former interim lightweight champ Dustin Poirier. Before he became Poirier’s trainer, Brown was one of his teammates.
They developed a relationship that has lasted over the decade Poirier has been in the UFC. Poirier would go on to win his first 5 UFC fights before losing by submission to Chan Sung Jung.
He would rack up an impressive 9-2 record in his first three years with the company. Dustin would then have his first meeting with Conor McGregor and lose by TKO.
After the loss, Dustin would put together a string of win streaks to earn a shot at the interim lightweight championship. Meeting former featherweight champion Max Holloway for the 2nd time and would earn a dominant decision win. Earning his first UFC championship.
Poirier would then meet the reigning champion Khabib Nurmagomedov. Losing by submission in the 2nd round.
Dustin would bounce back, beating Dan Hooker and then would face Conor McGregor in a rematch, Avenging his loss against McGregor and having the best performance of his career.
They would have a rematch that Poirier would win again by TKO.
Jorge Masvidal
Jorge “Gamebred” Masvidal has had a nearly 20 year career. Most of his prime being spent at American Top Team and also training with Mike Brown.
Masvidal fought for nine years in various promotions before making it to the UFC in 2012. He would win his first two fights in the UFC beating contenders Tim Means and Michael Chiesa.
Throughout Masvidal’s career, he would put together winning streaks and then lose one or two fights by decision.
On the verge of being cut, Jorge went on the run of his career. Knocking out Darren Till and a record 8 second KO of Ben Askren.
He would then take a short notice match for the championship against Kamaru Usman. He would lose by decision and would get a rematch, but would lose by knockout.
Joanna Champion
Joanna came into the UFC after the promotion created the women’s strawweight division. She immediately rose to the top of the division. Winning the title in just her second fight with the promotion.
After winning the tite, she would set a division record of title defenses. Defending her title 5 times and moving her record to 14-0.
In her 6th title defense, Rose Namajunas would shock the world, stopping Joanna in the first round. Also losing a decision in the rematch.
She would later fight for the women’s flyweight title and for the strawweight title again. Joanna is currently ranked #2 in the strawweight division and in line for another title shot.
Kayla Harrison
Judo Olympic gold medalist turned MMA fighter Kayla Harrison has been training with Mike Brown at ATT since she started training. In her short career, Harrison has been nothing, but dominant.
She has gone 10-0 in just a few years and is looking to test herself against the world’s best.
Mike Brown’s legacy
Mike Brown had an amazing career as a fighter and even better as a coach. He is one of the few that have both won a major title as a fighter and as a coach.
Brown was awarded coach of the year by CombatPress.com from 2016-2019. In his short time as a full time coach, Mike Brown has proven to be among the world’s best. Don’t be surprised to Brown help lead more of the world’s best fighters to championship gold.
