During the main card of an underwhelming Fight Night card over the weekend, welterweight Randy Brown scored his first stoppage win for almost three years in round one vs. Muslim Salikhov, then called to feature on the UFC 300 card – angling to prove why he’s top-15 calibre at 170lbs. Michael Chiesa unwittingly became an example fuelling the fire for him and other non-ranked contenders.
Brown spoiling for a shot at ranked opponent next
Saturday night’s Apex card didn’t pull up any trees – not for the first time recently – but one key tidbit that emerged besides a victorious Renato Moicano and Nassourdine Imavov’s main event scalp came from a first-round knockout win for long-time welterweight hopeful Randy Brown against Muslim Salikhov.
The 33-year-old has had previous opportunities to finally crack the top-15 at 170lbs, falling short against perennial contender Vicente Luque (Aug. 2020) and rising star Jack Della Maddalena (Feb. 2023) most notably over the past half-decade.
The welterweight division has been stale at the top for some time now, to the point where most of those more experienced fighters aren’t looking backwards or defending their ranking – meaning less opportunity for others to earn their stripes.
Ian Machado Garry [10, 26 years old] and Della Maddalena [11, 27yo] are currently the only two fighters under 30 in the top-15, something neutral observers want to change given how many of the old guard are both relatively inactive and unlikely to fight for championship gold. New prospects must be given the licence to rise.
“If I’m a contender coming up, looking at these guys and am like, ‘Who can I realistically get a matchup with?’ and the guys aren’t fighting – you’ve got to do something to prove you belong in that spot.
I feel like he’s one that don’t fight as consistent as he should, so I just locked in on him.”
- Brown has a lot of respect for Chiesa, though this observation isn’t new
Michael Chiesa, who has flickered between lightweight and welterweight in his 14-year pro career, figures as one of those fighters. He’s on a three-fight losing streak, most recently suffering a first-round submission defeat by Kevin Holland last July.
Juggling training with analyst work for the promotion, the 36-year-old was coincidentally on the desk during the UFC Vegas 85 broadcast and is said to have had a respectful discussion with Rude Boy about a potential showdown later this year.
Brown spoke with optimism after their conversation, saying:
“We’re trying to get it done. He said maybe UFC 300 is a little too soon for him, but wants to do it. If he’s a man of his word, which I think he is, hopefully the UFC can come to something or we can work it out, we’ll see.”
At age 33 and with time ticking, Randy can’t afford to wait on goodwill so should try to get a fight booked over the coming months anyway – perhaps against Rinat Fakhretdinov [15] or the winner of next month’s intriguing matchup between Holland and promotional newcomer Michael ‘Venom’ Page after his quick weekend KO.
Picture source: Getty Images, quotes via mmajunkie
Mo and Sports 