[VIDEO] Travis Browne Says He's The Dark Horse In The Heavyweight Division
Posted by Joseph Lee on 08.18.2012
But he's okay with that...
Travis Browne (13-0-1 MMA, 4-0-1 UFC) spoke with MMA Junkie about his upcoming fight with Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva (16-4 MMA, 0-1 UFC) at UFC on FX 5: Brown vs Bigfoot. He was originally slated to face Ben Rothwell at UFC on FOX 4 on August 4, but an injury to Rothwell ended those plans.
The event takes place on October 6 at the Target Center in Minneapolis. The main card airs on FX with the preliminary card airing on FUEL Tv.
Browne said: "I've done pretty much three camps back to back to back. I'm (finally) getting there."
Browne had consecutive wins over Stefan Struvve, Rob Broughton and Chad Griggs. Meanwhile, Bigfoot is on something of a losing streak with back-to-back losses to Cain Velasquez and Daniel Cormier. But he's a notable fighter with previous wins over Fedor Emelianenko, Andrei Arlovski and Ricco Rodriguez.
Brown said of Silva: "He's (Silva) a super tough guy, and he's beaten some guys that were former champions. In this sport, though, it's not about what you've done in the past. It's about what you're doing now. I feel like I'm in that zone."
Browne has been training at Jackson-Winkeljohn MMA in New Mexico. He added: "Everything is starting to come to a point with me where both my physical and mental aspects of my game are really starting to come together. I think since the beginning of this year, I've really found my true motivation and why I'm doing this. And (I'm) getting back to the roots of why I wanted to become an athlete in the first place. I think I've finally found it, and that's really pushing me to do what I've done."
The current heavyweight division starts with champion Junior Dos Santos, who will have a rematch with Velasquez on December 29. Alistair Overeem is suspended and waiting for a title shot. Cormier will face Frank Mir in Strikeforce on October 27. Fabricio Werdum is currently on a two fight winning stream. A win for Browne over Bigfoot would definitely get him to the top tier of the division.
He said: "It's fun to be a part of it (elite company) and to be at that point in my career. I've worked hard to get where I'm at. All the hard work is really starting to show off now. There's starting to become a buzz around me, but also I feel like I still have to go out there and prove myself. That's where I'm at, I feel, in the heavyweight race. But at the same time, you give me a shot (at top contenders), and I'm ready to go. I think in the heavyweight division, I'm kind of like the dark horse."
