Sherdog’s Top 10: Late Bloomers

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1. Matt Brown

Over the past few years, Brown has truly grown into his nickname: “The Immortal.” Having recorded seven wins in his past eight appearances, six by way of knockout, Brown brings the violence while absorbing a fair amount himself.

Brown has looked like a fighter possessed over the last three years, but his path to this point was not always main events, universal acclaim and performance bonuses. He was once an MMA journeyman. In all, Brown competed for 12 different promotions, in six different states, before getting his shot in the UFC. From 2005-08, he accrued a record of 7-6 and showed glaring weaknesses in terms of his submission defense. Brown’s proverbial big break came on “The Ultimate Fighter 7,” but after losing by submission to Amir Sadollah in the quarterfinals, his run on the reality show concluded. His stint in the UFC continued to underwhelm, as Brown lost five out of his next nine fights. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, something clicked at UFC 143 in Las Vegas. Brown finished Chris Cope. His next bout was not as cut and dry, as a three-round war with Stephen Thompson resulted in a unanimous decision victory. The next five opponents -- Luis Ramos, Mike Swick, Jordan Mein, Mike Pyle and Erik Silva -- all met the same fate, falling to Brown by KO or TKO.

The tear thrust Brown into a welterweight title eliminator with Robbie Lawler at UFC on Fox 12, where a unanimous decision loss left him one tantalizing step shy of challenging for Ultimate Fighting Championship gold.