Matt Brown Hopes He Can “Speak in Near-Full Sentences” When Fighting Career is Done

Earlier this summer, on the main card of UFC 201, gritty welterweight Matt Brown was flattened by the brick-fisted Jake Ellenberger. It was the first knockout loss on Brown’s long record.

On the heels of this loss, Brown made an appearance on MMA Junkie Radio to discuss his concerns about sustaining long-term brain damage.

On the show, he recounted his first concussion diagnosis, which occurred in 2015. He said the injury was severe enough that it made it difficult for him to speak properly, and caused him to fall when he walked from bed to the bathroom. The treatment for this concussion, he added, was also miserable.

“I had to sit in my room for 10 days with no lights, no loud noises, no TV, no reading,” Brown said. “Like, literally stare at the wall and do nothing for 10 days, like jail.”

“Now that I’ve been through that, I want to be extra careful,” he said.

Though Browne maintains Ellenberger didn’t completely knock him out, he explained to the show’s hosts that the loss did mark the first time he’d been dropped by a punch to the head.

“It’s the first time from a head shot that I’ve been dropped in my entire life, and I’ve sparred with heavyweights and big guys,” he explained. “I hope that I can speak near-full sentences when I’m done fighting.”

Between his first concussion in 2015 and his recent loss to Ellenberger, Browne’s brain damage worries are certainly sound. Yet the fan favorite welterweight also explained that he believes he’s probably sustained “hundreds” of undiagnosed concussions over the course of his career. As a result, he told MMA Junkie Radio that he plans to take his return to competition slowly.

Though it is not often discussed, brain injuries have plagued many fighters in the past. Former lightweight contender TJ Grant was unfortunately driven from competition by a concussion, while old school veteran Gary Goodridge is afflicted by serious brain trauma in his post-fighting life. Former UFC bantamweight Nick Denis, meanwhile, made an early retirement from competition due to worries surrounding the effects of fighting on the brain.

Do you think Matt Brown is right to be worried? Sound off, PENN nation!