Matt Brown has been in the UFC since 2008. He has also fought at least once a year every year since 2005.<\/p>\n
However, in 2018 that streak ended when Brown, unfortunately, was dealing with some injuries that kept him from competing inside the Octagon. He tore his ACL earlier this year when he was preparing for a fight against Carlos Condit.<\/p>\n
“I was supposed to fight Kelvin Gastelum like three, four years ago and I had to pull out of that fight. I tore some ligaments in my ankle and for the past couple of years, I have been dealing with that,”\u00a0Brown told BJPENN.com this week. “It got worse the last camp and I was pushing through it and just trying to get to the fight. I got a cortisone shot, just trying to get to the fight. I think it led to the ACL injury, it could have been a coincidence too. That is what it felt like to me. I have been dealing with it for at least three to four years.<\/span><\/p>\n “I also had ankle surgery. My ankle was messed up first, that is probably why my ACL tore. That\u2019s why it has been taking so long,” Brown continued. “I am probably around 90 percent now. I have to get 100 percent to get into full training.”<\/span><\/p>\n While Brown has been away, the welterweight division has seen some big changes. Colby Covington and Kamaru Usman became title contenders, as did Darren Till. The UFC also acquired a new top contender\u00a0in Ben Askren. Yet none of that concerns Brown.<\/p>\n “I am not even really thinking about. I\u2019m just focusing on what I do and not really focused on the division on who is up there and who is doing what,” he said. “Just focusing on myself and being positive. I have a gym I am building so that is taking up a lot of my time. Not even really focusing on anything else.”<\/span><\/p>\n Brown has opened up a gym in Columbus, Ohio which serves as a gym for the everyday person. He has a couple of amateur fighters training under his roof too, but for now, it is a public martial arts gym.<\/p>\n While Brown would be open to fighting again, running this gym has taken up most of his time. Fighters often get an itch to compete, but Brown hasn’t really experienced that because he’s been so busy opening his gym.<\/p>\n “Yeah, 100 percent. It is harder than any other fight I have ever done,” Brown said of his gym. “It is keeping me on my toes, keeping the adrenaline going high all the time.”<\/span><\/p>\n Although the gym has kept Brown busy, rehabbing his injuries has also taken up a lot of his focus. The UFC veteran is almost completely healthy but isn’t sure if he will fight again.<\/p>\n