Mike Brown was on top of the world for much of 2008 and 2009, but things change quickly in mixed martial arts. The rest of the field has caught and begun to pass the former WEC featherweight champ. Rani Yahya dominated Brown in a grappling war to take a unanimous decision, 30-27, 29-28, 29-28, in an undercard bout at Fight for the Troops 2 at Fort Hood in Killeen, Tx.
This was actually Brown's second fight in last three weeks in the UFC. He lost on New Year's Day at UFC 125 via decision against Diego Nunes. Maybe it was too soon to bounce back. He didn't look fresh for most of the fight.
Brown (24-8, 0-3 UFC) was a dominant force when he first dropped down to 145, but his fortunes have changed quickly, losing two straight, 3-of-4 and 4-of-6.
Yahya (16-6, 1-0 UFC) set the tone early with his grappling. The Brazilian is slight compared Brown, but he looked like the much stronger fighter in the clinch, and when the fight hit the floor.
Yahya was close to setting up a rear-naked choke at the end of the first. Brown was already breathing heavily. In the second, Brown opted to lock horns again with Yahya. He got it to the ground but could never settle into a dominant position. After a stalemate on the floor for three minutes, the fight got back to the feet. Brown looked sluggish and was missing badly with right hands from a distance. Brown did enough to take the round on two cards, but was out of gas.
In With about 50 seconds gone by in the final round, Yahya scored a takedown. A minute later, Yahya had his back. He did significant damage with punches and worked for a choke. He was pounding away, but referee Mario Yamasaki thought he saw some illegal shots and put the fight back on the feet. Brown couldn't mount an attack in the final minute.
Lowe's wrestling early on too much for Freire
Waylon Lowe isn't interested much in style points. He's a grinder, who relies on his wrestling to take the sting away from more well-rounded fighters. Willamy Freire may be a hot shot prospect, but he proved he still needs to work on his takedown defense. Lowe scored takedowns throughout the first two rounds. The American moved out to a 20-18 lead and survived gassing a bit in the final round to post his second UFC victory. Lowe won via unanimous decision, 29-28 on all scorecards.
The thickly muscled Lowe (10-3, 2-1 UFC) had a big advantage in the power department. Freire, 23, was too stationary when standing, allowing Lowe to charge forward for easy takedowns. On the ground, Freire was active from the bottom, but the judges gave the nod to Lowe who controlled things from the top.
Lowe was exhausted in the third and there for the taking, but Freire couldn't turn on the jets. After a scramble, he momentarily scored the mount. Freire eventually settled into Lowe's half guard with three minutes left in the fight. He did some damage with 12-15 lefts to Lowe's face, but the American scrambled and eventually got to his feet.
Non-televised undercard:
Chris Cariaso def. Will Campuzano via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28).
Charlie Brenneman def. Amilcar Alves via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27).
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Cat Zingano thought she knew plenty about taking care of herself as an athlete.