Jose Aldo ends Mike Brown’s run as featherweight champion

By Brett Okamoto

Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2009 | 11:15 p.m.

Seven minutes of action at The Pearl at The Palms Wednesday night left Mike Brown with stitches over both eyes and an empty spot around his waist where the WEC featherweight belt previously rested.

While it was clear the 34-year-old fighter was disappointed after suffering a second-round TKO loss to Jose Aldo, he denied being shocked.

No more so than usual at least.

“It’s a crazy sport. I’m shocked every time I get in there,” Brown said. “Holding the belt is over though. Where do I go from here? I have to try and figure that out.”

While Brown’s career is far from over, he didn’t look much like the dominant 145-pound champion WEC fans have grown accustomed to seeing.

The 23-year-old Aldo (16-1) dominated Brown from start to finish in front of a near-sellout crowd Wednesday night, keeping him off balance on his feet and squashing every takedown attempt.

Things went completely south for Brown (22-5) early in the second round, when Aldo knocked him to the ground during an exchange next to the cage and pounded out the TKO win after Brown turned his back.

“It’s hard to say what happened; I don’t remember exactly,” Aldo said. “I think at some point we were pinned against the fence, I jumped with a knee and he fell out of balance. I started hitting him from there.”

Even with referee Steve Mazzagatti’s reputation for stopping fights early, it didn’t appear as if many disagreed with his decision to step in at the 1:20 mark of the second round.

While Brown maintained he wasn’t hurt in the final seconds of the fight, he didn’t blame Mazzagatti for ending it.

“I wasn’t improving my position,” Brown said. “I wasn’t hurt, I was just caught in a bad position that I wasn’t getting out of any time soon. I think I could have battled my way out of there but I shouldn’t have been in that position.”

Brown became the sixth straight opponent who has been unable to take Aldo the distance of the fight.

The Brazilian fighter has been almost too explosive for his own good, prompting WEC General Manager Reed Harris to say that no one knew how good Aldo was, in part, because his fights are so short.

Although Wednesday was far from a lengthy fight, Harris said it was long enough for Aldo to show just how good he is.

“We had a discussion within our own organization regarding Jose Aldo of, ‘How good is he?’” Harris said. “He proved it tonight. He beat Mike Brown. Mike Brown has been a champion. He’s fought like a champion, and Jose came in and decisively beat him.”

The WEC is proving to be a tough place for a champion.

Urijah Faber defended the featherweight championship five times before giving it up to Brown in 2008. Miguel Torres had a 17-fight winning streak snapped by Brian Bowles in their bantamweight championship fight in August.

According to Harris, the current trend of champions having a hard time defending their belt just showcases the spontaneity of the sport.

“There are three guys — Urijah Faber, Mike Brown and Miguel Torres — that...a year ago I would have told you these three guys are going to dominate their divisions,” Harris said. “Right now, all of them are no longer champions.

“If there’s one thing about mixed martial arts I’ve learned, it’s that anything can happen in the blink of an eye.”

As overwhelming as Aldo looked Wednesday night, it wouldn’t be crazy to believe he could be the next great champion in the WEC.

But as Brown will tell him, it’s hard to stay perfect for long when fighting the best.

“It’s really hard in this sport to beat the best guys in the world over and over again,” Brown said. “It’s hard not to let one slip through your fingers. If you’re fighting easy fights, you can win 20 in a row. But when you’re facing the best, it’s like baseball. You can’t win them all.”

Brett Okamoto can be reached at 948-7817 or [email protected].