The Sports Informant

A battered Urijah Faber was led away from the post-fight press conference he was expected to attend Sunday night in Sacramento and toward an ambulance standing by Arco Arena, then ushered to the UC Davis Medical Center for treatment on a broken right hand he suffered in a five-round battle with Featherweight champion Mike Brown.

Faber suffered the injuries in the first round of the World Extreme Cagefighting championship fight, landing a right hook to the head of the champion before reeling back in pain. After the round, he told his trainers he’d broken his hand.

Rather than end the fight there, which drew a record crowd for a WEC fight with 13,027 in attendance at Arco Arena (and a gate of $818,415), a courageous Faber pushed on for four more rounds before ultimately losing by decision, 46-49, 46-49, 47-48.

Urijah Faber was elusive and creative in his fight strategy, but it wasn't enough to overcome a surging Mike Brown. (Photo courtesy Kurt Garcia)

“It was a good fight,” Brown said in the press conference after, the sole representative from the main event. “Urijah got injured, I don’t know what round. I didn’t even realize it until my corner started telling me. I don’t know how close (the fight) really was; I wasn’t keeping score at home. It might have been an even closer fight if he hadn’t gotten hurt.”

Despite the injury becoming a huge factor in Faber’s performance, Brown was clearly in control of the fight from beginning to end. Hurt or unhurt, Faber was unable to keep a relentless Brown at bay, as the champ consistently took Faber down.

Faber, elusive and quick-witted, eventually escaped most of the sticky situations Brown put him in, but could never really return the damage he sustained from Brown. In the end, Brown piled up more points, and while Faber put on a great show, it wasn’t enough to earn what was once his belt back.

“I think what won me the fight tonight was pressure takedowns,” Brown said. “I was putting the pressure on and I was getting takedowns. I don’t think I had him hurt real bad or anything. I don’t think I almost put him to sleep or anything like that, and I don’t think he did that to me, but what I was doing was pressure, pressure, pressure. And when there was a takedown, I was the one usually ending up on top, and I think that’s what got me the scorecards.”

The game plans for both sides were clear, and executed very well by both corners. Brown wanted to attack, using his steel chin to entice Faber to engage, where he hoped to eventually land a knockout punch like their first meeting, or use his wrestling to take Faber down and try to ground and pound.

Mike Brown had Urijah Faber against the cage or on the ground often, scoring valuable points to secure a win. (Photo courtesy Kurt Garcia)

“I think it was a similar fight (to the first one),” Brown said, remembering his November 2008 meeting with Faber in which he knocked the former champion out to take the belt. “The other fight I hit him with a good shot early, and that happens. If you swing hard and connect, man, they’re gonna go down. If you swing and you miss by half an inch, they’re not gonna go down, and I was just missing by a little bit here and there. I threw a couple of heavy shots and I just missed them.”

That’s where Faber’s game plan came into play. The smaller fighter needed to use his speed to gain an advantage, and for the most part, he did it well. Faber threw jabs and hooks before ducking out and avoiding the return fire of Brown’s heavy hands. But with a broken right hand, and a possibly injured left hand, too, Faber’s attack was relegated to quick elbows instead of punches, giving Brown the space to grab Faber and take him down, or connect on strikes of his own.

“I know that’s his style, I knew he was going to be elusive,” Brown said. “I’m a pressure fighter. I push forward every time I fight. He did a good job trying to keep me away from him. The only thing different is I thought he’d take me down more.”

On paper, Brown was the clear winner, as he controlled the Octagon, hunting Faber down all fight long, and consistently took down or slammed Faber at will. But it wasn’t an overwhelming victory by any means. Faber sprung up and escaped every bad situation he found himself in, clearly read Brown’s heavy punches all five rounds and was able to avoid major damage… at least damage he didn’t cause himself.

The fight had a lot of potential to be great from the start, as Faber peppered Brown with jabs and hooks while bouncing around the ring with ease. With that pace every round, and the ability to punch full force, it’s unclear what the result might have been. But Faber’s hand broke, the fight changed and Brown took advantage. That’s what champions do.