Rivalries: Randy Brown

Randy Brown has not yet taken the massive step forward many anticipated when he joined the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s welterweight roster in 2016. With his now having moved north of 30, time could be of the essence.

The 32-year-old Budokan Martial Arts Academy representative will attempt to get back on track when he dukes it out with Wellington Turman as part of the UFC on ABC 5 undercard this Saturday at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida. Brown has won four of his past five bouts. Through 15 appearances inside the Octagon, he owns a more than respectable 10-5 record.

As Brown makes final preparations for his upcoming clash with Turman at 170 pounds, a look at a few of the rivalries that have helped shape his career to this point:

Belal Muhammad

The onetime Titan Fighting Championship titleholder found the holes in Brown’s game and exposed them, as he used a combination of leg kicks, takedowns and aggressive grappling to claim a unanimous decision in their featured UFC 208 prelim on Feb. 11, 2017 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. Muhammad drew 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28 nods on the scorecards. Brown leaned on two-, three- and four-punch volleys but had no response for what his counterpart brought to the table. Muhammad chewed up the inside and outside of his lead leg with thudding kicks, mixed in well-conceived takedowns and maneuvered to the back in the second and third rounds. Brown reversed position with 20 seconds left in the fight and fired away with ground-and-pound. However, the finish he needed was nowhere to be found.

Mickey Gall

Brown moved passed another prospect spawned by the northeast regional scene when he was awarded a unanimous verdict over the previously unbeaten Sussex County MMA export as part of the UFC 217 undercard on Nov. 4, 2017 at Madison Square Garden in New York. Scores were 29-28, 29-28 and 29-27. Gall had his moments and was particularly dominant in the second round, where he smothered his Jamaican-born adversary in top position, floated from side control to full mount and fished for submissions. It was not enough to overcome Brown. “Rude Boy” called upon bookend rounds, assumed top position and bloodied Gall with elbows, forearm strikes and hammerfists. Brown spent most of the third round on top, controlling the Brazilian jiu-jitsu brown belt and applying his ground-and-pound when necessary.

Warlley Alves

The promising but mercurial Brown dispatched “The Ultimate Fighter Brazil” Season 3 winner with a triangle choke in the second round of their UFC Fight Night 164 prelim on Nov. 16, 2019 at Ibirapuera Gymnasium in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Alves bowed out 1:22 into Round 2 in what remains the only submission loss on his resume. Brown wandered into immediate danger. Alves secured a pair of takedowns in the first round, sliced through his opponent’s guard and progressed to the back, at which point he transitioned from a neck crank to a rear-naked choke and appeared to be closing in on a finish of his own. Brown survived, extended the fight and answered a takedown from the Brazilian with a triangle early in the second round. He shifted position, adjusted the choke with his long legs and squeezed until the job was done.

Vicente Luque

“The Ultimate Fighter” Season 21 graduate cut down Brown with a devastating knee strike and follow-up punches in the second round of their UFC Fight Night 173 welterweight showcase on Aug. 1, 2020 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The end came 4:56 into Round 2. Still one of the most underrated and underappreciated threats in the 170-pound weight class, Luque targeted the onetime Ring of Combat champion’s lower leg with kicks, pieced together punching volleys, countered effectively and walked through a persistent jab from the New York-based Jamaican. He pinned Brown to the cage late in the second round, snatched a front headlock and delivered the knee that set the stage for the stoppage.

Jack Della Maddalena

The former Eternal MMA champion took care of Brown with a rear-naked choke in the first round of their UFC 284 welterweight feature on Feb. 11, 2023 at RAC Arena in Perth, Australia. Della Maddalena drew the curtain 2:13 into Round 1 and put his 14th straight win in the books. Brown initially exploited his four-inch height and five-inch reach advantages, keeping the Scrappy MMA rep at bay with a steady jab and routine stance switches. However, Della Maddalena closed the distance, trapped him along the fence and found the mark with a right hook behind the ear. Brown faceplanted into the canvas, ducked for cover and ate rapid-fired hammerfists until he surrendered his back. Della Maddalena then secured the choke and nailed down his first submission victory in more than five years.