Give The Man His Due

Yesterday night, Mike Thomas Brown beat Urijah Faber for the second time in under a year, keeping the WEC Featherweight belt strapped around his waist and running his win streak to 10.

Today, thanks to Twitter and this wondrous thing we call the Internet, everyone is well away of Faber's broken hand, suffered early in the fight and pontificating about a trilogy fight and how things would have been different had Faber not gotten injured.

Well, I'd be 6-foot-4 if I wasn't 5-foot-10...



It's thoroughly amazing to me how so many people are quick to discredit Brown and his win, both last night and back in November. Faber fans and pundits clamor to excuses about flash knockouts, moves that shouldn't have been tried and broken metatarsals.

The bottom line, whether you like it or not, is that Urijah Faber is 0-2 against Mike Thomas Brown, the reigning and defending King of the Featherweights and nothing is going to change that.

Would things have been different if Faber doesn't throw that stupid spinning back elbow? Maybe, but he tried it and got his ass handed to him.

Does "The California Kid" earn points in my books for going five rounds with the champ one-handed? Of course he does, but it doesn't mean anything when it comes to the checks and balances. He lost. Stop making excuses for him.

The hot water cooler topic among MMA fans today, as expected, is whether these two should get into the cage for a third time. While I wouldn't turn off the television if the fight came on, there are a whole lot of caveats that need to be considered.

Both Jose Aldo and Wagnney Fabiano have a legit claim to a title shot. Aldo earned Knockout of the Night and a place in the highlight reels with an eight second, flying knee destruction of Cub Swanson, while Fabiano is 12-1, unbeaten in his last eight and truthfully, should be 13-0 because his decision loss to Jeff Curran in Gatineau in 2006 was a brutal call.

Secondly, Faber is going to be shelved for some time if his hand is actually as messed up as it appears to be. Don't expect to see him in the cage for at least six months.

Lastly, say a third fight happens and Faber wins. Then what? Faber vs. Brown 4? Even then, a second consecutive Faber win would only even the score at two apiece, meaning you have to go one more, right? And what if one of them gets injured? Faber vs. Brown 6? You get the picture ...

I say, let the guy with the big, shiny belt around his waist enjoy his victory for a bit and give the man the respect he's earned.

After all, he's beaten Urijah Faber twice and that guy is awesome!