QUEBEC CITY – Former WEC featherweight champion Mike Brown (26-9 MMA, 2-4 UFC) believes the end of his long and storied MMA career has finally arrived.

After 13 years and 35 professional fights, Brown isn’t willing to commit to retirement entirely, but he has a strong inclination his days as a competitor are behind him.

“I don’t think I’ll fight again,” Brown told MMAjunkie. “I haven’t retired, just in case, because I don’t want to be a guy who walks away and comes right back.”

Brown has been contemplating retirement for the past two years, but like most fighters nearing the end of the road, he was doing everything possible to hang on to any dwindling moments of glory.

The final turning point came just recently when Brown withdrew from a scheduled bout opposite Estevan Payan at UFC on FOX 11 on April 19. The 38-year-old felt he would be physically fit to compete at the event until a lingering neck injury flared up again.

“I accepted it like seven weeks out, but my neck was kind of bothering me and it’s too much on my neck,” Brown said. “I was training and in good shape, but then I started losing some strength in my hand again. When I get banged in the head some of my grip strength goes away and it’s just a reoccurring injury.”

Brown admits that, along with the neck injury, he was struggling with motivation when it came time to put in the necessary preparation to defeat a fighter of Payan’s caliber.

He wanted to fight when he couldn’t, and couldn’t fight when he wanted to. Brown thinks that inner-conflict, coupled with injuries and his age, is too much to overcome at this point in his career.

“When I had the fight, I didn’t really want it,” Brown said. “My body was bothering me, and then right when I pulled out I was like, ‘Oh man, I should have just done it and worried about my neck later.’ Now I’m feeling better about it. It was the smart decision to pull out.

“It’s hard when you’ve got only one hand that’s working properly. I can’t hold onto anything with my left. If I try to grab somebody’s wrist they can easily pull away because my strength is gone. Usually in a month or two, that strength comes back, but if I bang my head and get a stinger, it goes away again. It’s just continuously active.”

If this is indeed the end for Brown, he’ll be more than satisfied with his accomplishments. His two victories over Urijah Faber under the WEC banner were unquestionably the pinnacle of his career, but he also owns victories over familiar names such as Mark Hominick, Leonard Garcia and Nam Phan.

Brown is still struggling with the idea of never fighting again. However, he is still capable of reflecting on what has to be considered a successful career. If he could change one thing, though, it would be that his wins over Faber took place under the UFC banner, not the WEC.

“I’m grateful that I was world champion and the best in the world at one point,” Brown said. “But it would have been nice to have done it in the UFC. In 10 years a lot of people might not remember what the WEC was, but the UFC will still be around. It would have been cooler to say I was the UFC champion than WEC champ, but it’s OK.

“The Faber fights were my high points because that’s what made me world champion. I’m glad I got to do that.”

Brown says he has conversed with UFC matchmaker Sean Shelby since his withdrawal from the Payan bout. Shelby told Brown he would always have a place in the UFC should he come back – a gesture for which Brown is thankful.

Many fighters who retire from the sport end up in a difficult financial situation because the income from competition is all they have. Fortunately for Brown, his part-time coaching role at Florida’s American Top Team has turned into a full-time position, and he says he’s able to live comfortably. If his days as an MMA fighter are over, Brown says he’ll be content with using his knowledge to groom the next generation of athletes.

“Coaching is something I’ve always wanted to do since I was younger,” Brown said. “I wanted to coach pro fighters, high-level guys because I love the fight game. I got lucky to be at ATT doing what I love. I would do it for free, and I’m really lucky to do what I do.

“I’m lucky I’m at American Top Team. I’m already in coaching, so I’ll be right into a coaching role and staying involved in the sport and doing what I love.”

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