When former WEC champion Mike Brown (24-6 MMA, 0-1 UFC) steps into the octagon to face Diego Nunes (15-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC) at UFC 125, it won't be the first time he's fought inside the UFC's trademark cage.
Of course, the first time didn't go exactly as planned.
Brown first fought for the UFC in April 2004 against Genki Sudo. Despite carrying a seven-fight win streak into the bout, Brown was submitted in the first round.
"I was definitely outgunned and overmatched back then," Brown said. "I was small for the weight. I was still training in Maine back then. I was way outgunned. I was brought in to lose. I think that was the decision made by good management on Genki (Sudo's) part.
"I had a chance, but it's a percentage game. He was a heavy favorite, but I loved it. It was a great experience. I'm a huge fan of the sport; that's why I got into it. Genki Sudo is actually my favorite fighter."
It would be four years before Brown would fight again under the Zuffa, LLC banner. Re-invented as a featherweight, Brown debuted for the recently dissolved WEC brand in June 2008. He would go on to beat Urijah Faber for the organization's title later that year.
But in 2009, Brown was defeated by Jose Aldo, who was awarded the belt. After a win over Anthony Morrison, Brown's comeback was halted by a knockout loss to Manny Gamburyan.
Brown is currently 2-2 in his past four bouts, but as a man who has put together win streaks of at least seven fights twice in his career, the American Top Team product isn't discouraged.
"I felt great for Manny," Brown said. "I felt the same exact way in both fights. In both fights I felt really confident and certain I was going to knock the dude out. But with Manny, I was stalking him and swinging hard, and I just missed and he hit me with a good shot on the chin. That's just how luck had it. If I would have cracked him, he would have went down.
"You play a percentage game. Sometimes it's 90 percent you get a win, and sometimes it's 95 and sometimes it's 50-50 depending on who the opponent is. But sometimes the best fighter doesn't always win."
With the WEC's recent merger with its sister company, the UFC, Brown is once again on the roster of the world's biggest mixed martial arts promotion. Perhaps surprisingly, Brown won't be looking to his previous UFC experience for guidance. Instead, Brown believes it's his time in the WEC that has him prepared to succeed.
"The UFC didn't prepare me because I was on the undercard," Brown said. "What prepared me was those big fights in the WEC.
"When I fought in Sacramento against Urijah (Faber), there was like 16,000 people there. It was packed. It was going crazy. That's the same as the UFC. The crowd was same when Chuck Liddell fought Tito Ortiz the first time; the crowd was going bonkers. That's how it was when I fought Urijah."
In the once-beaten Nunes, Brown faces a stiff test – but one that he feels more than prepared to pass.
"He's good," Brown said. "He's got a great record; he's 15-1. He's fought a lot of world-class guys. He's never been finished. He's definitely a world class fighter and in the top-10.
"I think I have the stronger ability to finish. I think I hit harder and I think my submissions are better than his."
A former WEC champion, Brown is unquestionably immediately relevant in the UFC's 145-pound division. And at UFC 125, Brown hopes to prove that he's ready for a shot at the UFC's belt – and that his second trip to the octagon will be much different than his first.
"I think I've got to prove myself," Brown said. "But I think that's the case for most fights. I had to prove myself against Urijah the first time. I had to prove against Leonard (Garcia) that I was really the champ. I had to beat Urijah again to prove it wasn't a fluke. At that point, I was well-established, but then I lost a couple.
"People are talking bad again that I'm not that good, so I have to prove myself again."
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