Photo by Esther Lin for MMA Fighting.
At UFC 143: Diaz vs. Condit, Matt Brown (12-11; 5-5 UFC) squares off against Chris Cope (5-2; 1-1 UFC). This Welterweight fight is the second of four fights on the FX prelim card. Neither man in currently ranked in the USA Today/BE Consensus Rankings. The prelims air on FX starting at 8 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT, with the PPV broadcast following at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT.
Cope and Brown are an interesting pairing as there are strong similarities between both men's path into the UFC. Both came to the organization through The Ultimate Fighter. Both ended their stint on TUF looking decent but not spectacular, though having developed a distinct persona on the show - Brown was the tough Chuck Norris type, while Cope was the goof (the weigh-in picture sums up each man's image nicely). Those personas helped each stand out from the pack and stay somewhat relevant in the UFC. The big difference is, Brown has the serious experience edge - he's been down the path that Cope is just beginning.
How do these two stack up?
Brown: 31 years old | 6'0" | 76" reach
Cope: 28 years old | 6'1" | 73" reach
What have these two done recently?
Brown: L - Seth Baczynski (Sub) | W - John Howard (UD) | L - Brian Foster (Sub)
Cope: L - Che Mills (TKO) | W - Chuck O'Neil (UD) | W - Ron Keslar (TKO)
How did these two get here?
Matt "The Immortal" Brown was part of season 7 of The Ultimate Fighter. Coming out of the show, he looked like a typical TUF veteran who would have a brief UFC career, but he turned heads in a tough losing effort against the at the time undefeated Dong Hyun Kim. He followed that performance up with 4 straight wins, giving him a 4-1 UFC record. Since then he has struggled, losing three straight before saving his job with an upset win over John Howard last year. He's since lost again, and could be fighting for his job here.
Chris "C-Murder" Cope is largely known for his grin and his Ric Flair style "Woo!" A member of Team Lesnar last year, Cope started his UFC career with a win over fellow TUF fighter Chuck O'Neil. He looked good in that win, but then lost to Che Mills at UFC 138. The California fighter has experience in Strikeforce, but is still very new to MMA with only 7 pro fights to his credit. Like Brown, he's coming off a loss, and I could see him being cut with a loss as well, though he's probably not in as dire a situation as Brown.
Why should you care?
Possible loser leaves town match-up here. The last time Brown was in this situation, he delivered, and I expect he'll do so again. There's not a ton of relevance here, but it's a well matched fight.
For a more in-depth look at Brown vs. Cope, check out Dallas Winston's fight dissection.
You can catch more UFC 143 preview content from Bloody Elbow after the jump.
SBN coverage of UFC 143: Diaz vs. Condit
- UFC 143 Judo Chop: Fabricio Werdum Striking Analysis - Fraser Coffeen
- UFC 143 'Diaz Vs. Condit' Exclusive Weigh-Ins Photo Gallery - Matthew Roth
- Super Bowl XLVI Video: NFL Players Pick The Winners of UFC 143 - Matthew Roth
- UFC 143 Weigh-In Results: Carlos Condit 169, Nick Diaz 169 - Tim Burke
- UFC 143: Diaz Vs. Condit - Renan Barao Vs. Scott Jorgensen Dissection - Dallas Winston
- UFC 143: Diaz Vs. Condit Staff Predictions - Tim Burke
- Frank Mir Thinks UFC 143's Fabricio Werdum Is Heavyweight's Best Grappler - Matthew Roth
- UFC 143 Weigh-In Video And Coverage - Tim Burke
- UFC 143 Video: Watch Full Countdown Show On Bloody Elbow - Josh Nason
- UFC 143 Judo Chop: Carlos Condit Lands A Flying Knee KO - Fraser Coffeen
- UFC 143: Dana White 'No One Knew GSP At One Time Either' - Matthew Roth
- UFC 143: Details Of The New PPV Opening Montage, RIP Gladiator Man - Matthew Roth
- UFC 143: Diaz Vs. Condit - Ed Herman Vs. Clifford Starks Dissection - Dallas Winston
- UFC 143: Picking Knockout, Submission And Fight Of The Night Bonuses - Brent Brookhouse
- UFC 143 Judo Chop: The Striking And Grappling Technique Of Nick Diaz - Kid Nate
- UFC 143 Pre-Fight Press Conference Coverage And Video - Tim Burke
- UFC 143 Video: Josh Koscheck Hopes Georges St. Pierre 'Never Comes Back' From Knee Surgery - Kid Nate
- Bad Boy Presents Bloody Elbow Radio - Episode 131: UFC 143 Preview - Matt Bishop
- UFC 143 Video: Nick Diaz Not Happy With UFC Editing - Tim Burke
- UFC 143: A Look At The Ground Games of Fabricio Werdum and Roy Nelson - Ben Thapa
- UFC 143: Nick Diaz Details The Story Behind His Elite Level Conditioning - Anton Tabuena
- UFC 143: Diaz Vs. Condit Betting Lines - Tim Burke
- UFC 143 Video: Nick Diaz Talks Carlos Condit, Georges St. Pierre - Kid Nate
- UFC 143: Diaz Vs. Condit - FX Channel Preliminary Card Dissection - Dallas Winston
- UFC 143: Nick Diaz Vs. Carlos Condit Defines 'Gameness' - Kid Nate
- UFC 143: Undefeated Stephen Thompson Hopes To Make Case For Karate In MMA - Kid Nate
- UFC 143: Diaz Vs. Condit - Facebook Preliminary Card Dissection - Dallas Winston
- UFC 143: The Contradictory Marketing Of Nick Diaz And How The Reem May Not Be As Awesome As You Think - Ben Thapa


There is 1 Comment. Load Now.
Shortcuts to mastering the comment thread. Use wisely.
C - Next Comment
X - Mark as Read
R - Reply
Z - Mark Read & Next
Shift + C - Previous
Shift + A - Mark All Read
Comment Settings
Live comment alert: Hide it!
Comments for this post are closed.