The run that Randy Brown is on is not to be questioned. In his last seven fights, he’s had his hand raised in six of them with the only loss coming to top 5 talent Jack Della Maddelena. That span also includes a quick first round KO and a rare one-arm rear naked choke.
Despite that recent success, Brown enters his UFC 302 fight against a stalwart of the division in Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos, but not a ranked one. That isn’t exactly what Rudeboy was looking for.
“I actually was [expecting a higher ranked opponent], but it is what it is,” Brown said. “I was looking to move forward. If you listened to my post-fight interviews, I stated clear that I’m looking to move forward and looking to move up in the division.”
While he didn’t get the matchup he was seeking, Brown recognizes that some have a different journey than others.
“I’m looking to move into the top 5 or top 10 and make some noise and earn those big fights,” he said. “Sometimes, I believe, you have to be twice as good and that’s okay sometimes. Everybody’s path is different.”
The only thing to do to fix that path is to continue the success. If he keeps doing what he’s doing, which is beating opponents in impressive fashion, the UFC will have to choice but to catapault him up the division.
“You have to be undeniable and that’s what I’ve been doing – stay the course and it’ll be inevitable that I’ll get what I want,” he said. “I’m definitely going to finish [Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos] and I’m going to go out there and put on a hell of a show.”
You can see the next step down that path at UFC 302 this Saturday. Brown’s fight with dos Santos takes place on the ESPN+ pay-per-view portion of the card starting at 10pm EST.
You can hear the entire audio of this interview at 2:10.
