Former WEC champ Mike Brown thinks he could have done some things differently in his WEC 44 title defense against Jose Aldo.  Brown spoke with MMAJunkie about the fight and why he lost:

"I think I was too conservative. Maybe more takedown attempts. I really have to see the tape."  "[Aldo] is a fast, good striker," Brown said. "He hit me with some pretty good shots. His takedown defense was good.

"I was a little weary to shoot double-legs on him because I know his knees are really good. Maybe I could have tried to mix it up and try that. I was trying to throw a shot, clinch and push him against the cage and take him down. It wasn't really working. He had good balance."


"I think I got hit with a couple of shots, and I think I took a bad takedown attempt," Brown said. "I was in a vulnerable position. I was on my knees. I don't know. I'll have to watch the tape.

"I was like, 'Whoa, I don't want to get hit here,' so I went to my back, which I never, ever, ever do. I'll have to see the tape for why I did that. Then I saw him over me, and I just remember trying to scramble, give up my back, and hopefully stand up."  "I wasn't hurt, but I was caught in a bad position where he had my legs in the air, and I wasn't getting out of there anytime soon," Brown said.

Here Brown talks about what he would have done differently:

"I would try to throw punches in combinations and maybe shoot doubles at the end of the combinations as opposed to throwing one punch at a time and pushing him against the cage," Brown said. "He's very good against the cage.

"I'm pretty good at working guys down when I have them against the cage. He's got that balance where he knows how to position his hips just right so it's not easy to yank his legs out from under him."

After watching last night's fight, I'm not even sure if that would work.  Aldo showed that he could take a punch from Brown, and Aldo popped right back up when Brown did get him down.  I really think Aldo is a bad match up for Brown stylistically, simply because Aldo proved to be strong enough to shake off a take down but has a huge advantage in speed as well.  Mike Brown is a formidable opponent for anyone, so I'm sure he'll get back to work and try to get some wins together for an eventual re-match with Aldo.  I wonder who they'll have Brown face next?