Matt Brown ecstatic to fight back at home, plans to KO Bryan Barberena with “an elbow or knee”

Matt Brown wasn’t sure he was going to get the hometown fight at UFC Columbus.

When the promotion announced they were heading back to Columbus, Brown immediately asked Sean Shelby to get him on the card. However, the UFC matchmaker told him the card was full which shocked Brown as he is one of the only fighters from Columbus on the roster.

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“It was just surprising, like why would they not want me on the card,” Brown said on Just Scrap Radio on BJPENN.com. “It’s weird how they do it. Colby-Masvidal, why didn’t they do that in Miami, you see it in boxing, there are always hometown fights, it’s very common in other sports but not in ours.”

Once he was told he wouldn’t be on the card, Brown began pleading with Shelby and the UFC to get him on it. Eventually, Shelby called Brown to offer him Bryan Barberena for UFC Columbus which ‘The Immortal’ accepted right away.

“It’s very exciting. Every fight is exciting in its own way but it’s cool to be able to do it at home. It was like 11, 13 years ago the last time they had it here and I was on that card. To do it over a decade later is badass, it’s great,” Brown explained.

Of course, Matt Brown and Bryan Barberena were supposed to fight in December, but a positive COVID-19 test forced him out of the fight. Although it was disappointing at the time, looking back he says it helped him as he was able to heal up some nagging injuries he had.

Now, ahead of the bout, Brown expects to not only win, but get a vicious KO win over Barberena in front of the hometown crowd.

“I see myself knocking him out, probably an elbow or knee. Just pull him into deep waters he hasn’t been in,” Brown said. “I want both of us to be in the deep waters and make it a war of attrition.”

Should Brown win, he isn’t sure what would be next for him. He isn’t thinking about retiring or anything past this fight as he wants to see how he feels in there before he makes any decision.

“I just take it one fight at a time, I thought about retiring 10 years ago,” Brown concluded. “Especially around this time in training camp when you are grinding for weeks and making all the sacrifices. I just take it a fight at a time, but I’ve always been that way.”

Do you think Matt Brown will KO Bryan Barberena at UFC Columbus?