New interview with WEC featherweight champion Mike Thomas Brown, who fights Jose Aldo later this month.  While this bout has been mostly overshadowed by upcoming activity in the UFC and Strikeforce, this is perhaps the most compelling main event this month.  A very competitive and intriguing matchup, and Brown gives a great interview.

This was conducted by emerging interview guru Steven Kelliher, and can be found in original format over here at Tapology.

Tapology: Can you talk about training at American Top Team and how that has added to your game over the past few years?

Brown: You improve so much. Some of these guys that I train with could be head coaches in other gyms—you just can’t help but get better. We have a guy in the top ten in every weight class.

Tapology: Whom do you train with around your weight at ATT?

Brown: At 155lbs. we have about 10 to 15 world-class fighters. I’m talking Jorge Masvidal, Yves Edwards, Marcus Aurelio, JZ Calvancante, Cole Miller, Din Thomas—there are a ton.

Tapology: How do you fair against those guys at 155lbs.?

Brown: They are a little bigger, but I think it is better that way; I like the challenge. We have guys at 155lbs. that are huge, and then you have guys at 170lbs., like Thiago Alves, who walk around over 200lbs.

Tapology: Talk about your most recent performances. You took the title from Faber last year and have since defended it against Leonard Garcia and Faber again. How did you feel about both of those fights?

Brown: I was happy. You’re not a champ until you defend the title and now I’ve done it two times to establish myself as the number one guy.

Tapology: Was Faber the toughest guy you have fought after looking at the rematch?

Brown: He was one of them, but I think my fight with Yves Edwards was the toughest. Against Faber, I went five rounds and I felt like I could have gone another five more. I could have gone all day long. I was never hurt or in trouble.

Tapology: You didn’t receive any serious medical injuries in that fight, did you?

Brown: No, nothing. Just black eyes.

Tapology: Faber injured both of his hands during the fight, but how did you feel about the way he went about announcing it after the fight?

Brown: It was a bit much. We have many world-class fighters here, and almost every one of them have broken their hands in fights—a lot of them have broken both—they all have metal plates in their hands, and I never heard anybody talk about it like that.

Tapology: What did you think about the way he just threw elbows from the point he injured his hands until the rest of the fight? Do you think he was catering to the crowd or do you think it was genuine?

Brown: I think he was hurt, but that’s part of the game. You’re fighting; you’re going to get banged up and hurt. You have to keep fighting—it happens to everybody.

Tapology: Regarding your next opponent, Jose Aldo, what do you think about him? He is obviously very fast, explosive, and powerful.

Brown: He is great. Like you said, he is fast, he’s a black belt in Jiu-Jitsu and he has been knocking everybody out. There are many people who think he is going to kill me, but there are people who think I am going to crush him, so there is only one way to find out.

Tapology: Without delving into the game plan too much, how do you think you match up against him? Do you think your size and strength might be able to overcome some of his speed?

Brown: I think it is speed versus power. Is my power, my wrestling, and my size going to be too much for him, or is his quickness going to be too much for me? There is only one way to figure that out.

Tapology: You have been fighting for a long time, but do you think you have arrived at the top of the mountain as the WEC Featherweight Champion or do you want something more?

Brown: I have the number one spot for my weight class right now. I would like to stay on top of the mountain for as long as I can and leave my mark, and I’d like to make money doing it. There is not a lot of money in my weight class, so I’m trying to hold on as long as I can and pile up the money. I’m making pretty good money right now, but the problem is, you can’t fight for too long, so you have a shorter window to make money and then it’s over.

What am I going to do in five years?

Tapology: Do you have an exit strategy right now or is the strategy just to pile up as much as you can and just try to live off of that?

Brown: My game plan is to stay in the game, working with high-level pros and coaching when I’m done.

Tapology: You are 34 now. How do you feel physically?

Brown: I feel good, the best I’ve ever been. I went through a really bad stretch in my late twenties when I was injured a lot, but I came out of it. I am pretty healthy now.

Tapology: How long do you plan on fighting?

Brown: Maybe three or four more years, around 38. You always wonder why these fighters stay around for too long, but you finally get to the point in your career where you’re making good money, so why would you leave? I’ll probably end up doing the same thing.

Tapology: All of the losses on your record have been submissions. Was that before your started training with ATT?

Brown: Three of them were before ATT, and the other one I got caught in a leg lock by Imanari, but he has really tricky Jiu-Jitsu. It’s hard to prepare for that.

Tapology: You lost to Joe Lauzon a few years ago as well. Do you think that was a part of your maturation process as a fighter?

Brown: I’m not making any excuses. He was from a small camp, I was from a small camp, but I’m ten times the fighter now than I was then. Since that fight I’m 13-1.

Tapology: Do you take added confidence from the fact that nobody has ever knocked you out or taken a decision from you, and that you’re obviously feeling much more comfortable on the ground now?

Brown: I think I’m hard to beat. Sometimes I get paranoid and think, how am I going to beat this guy, he is so tough, but then I’ll flip the script and say, I’m hard to beat. I hit hard, I’m hard to take down, and my submission defense is great, so I’m a tough fight for anybody. Since I joined ATT my submission offense is my strength now. I’m a better grappler than I am a striker, but I’m not an easy fight for anyone.

Tapology: There has been a lot of speculation in recent months about the fate of the WEC, whether it will be folded into the UFC eventually or if it will stay independent. What are your thoughts on the issue?

Brown: I did want it to fold into the UFC, but as long as we keep pouring money into it and we do some pay-per-view shows then I think we’re alright. Right now we’re not being paid what we should be because they aren’t doing the pay-per-views, so they’re not pulling in the same income [as the UFC]. A UFC bonus is $60,000 to $100,000, when a WEC bonus is $10,000, so there is a huge discrepancy.

There is no difference between myself, Urijah, Miguel Torres and Brian Bowles compared to the 170lb. and 185lb. champions. We train just as hard and put just as much on the line.

Tapology: They are talking about doing some pay-per-view shows next year, but does it make you nervous thinking that the WEC might not be able to pull in a large enough audience when compared with the brand-name exposure of the UFC?

Brown: It won’t be quite as big, but it’s about promoting it. If you don’t know who the two fighters are, you’re not going to pay for it. If you put Chuck Liddell against Kimbo Slice, it doesn’t matter if it’s in the UFC or somewhere else; people are still going to pay for that because they know who those two guys are. It comes down to marketing.

Tapology: Can we get your prediction for your title defense against Jose Aldo on November 18? How do you see the fight ending?

Brown: I don’t see it going the distance. I think this one is going to end early, in the first couple of rounds. I think someone is going to get knocked out. I hope it’s not me, but I’m a realist, I know how the game is. I’m not undefeated, he’s not undefeated—if I fight like I can, I’ll win—but the game’s crazy, you know?

Tapology: Thanks a lot for the time, Mike.

Brown: No problem. I’d like to thank Tapout, Champion Nutrition, Bushmaster Firearms, and check out my Web site, www.mikethomasbrown.com.