It’s true that Brown still has the belt. Good for him. But he still is surrounded by a cloud of doubt, which he has said in interviews bothers him. I doubt Mike Brown. There. I said it. His inability to take out a guy who had 2 injured hands, negating his ability to do submissions and of course punching, makes me wonder about Mike Brown. He was able to take Faber down at will, very impressive indeed, but wasn’t able to cause any significant damage in doing so. Faber is infamous for giving up his back so that he can scramble. He did that several times and Mike Brown was STILL unable to properly capitalize. I’m sorry, but I’ll say it again. I doubt Mike Brown.

There is no “certain extent” that Brown still has the belt. He’s the champ, period.

As for the cloud of doubt and that it bothers him, it would bother me too if everyone constantly offered up excuses for the guy you’ve beaten twice in eight months.

The thing that gets to me – and therefore spurred me to write this piece – is that even if Brown had finished Faber these same arguments in defense of “The California Kid” would be getting made. Not finishing him is a testament to Faber’s heart and skill level, not a slight on the talents of Mike Brown.

The guy has beaten everyone the WEC has put in front of him, including their poster boy on two occasions. He’s won ten fights in a row and hasn’t suffered a loss in nearly three years. He’s the Featherweight champion of the world.

What more do you want from the guy?