Brown moves up to 1-3 in the UFC overall (1-2 in this current run) and is finally headed in the right direction after a brutal two-year span that saw him go from champion to undercard fighter. Phan is now 0-2 in the octagon, though his first loss (to Leonard Garcia at The Ultimate Fighter 13 Finale) was highly disputed and is unlikely to be treated as a loss by the UFC. The bout took place on the Facebook portion of the broadcast.
What was the high spot of this fight?
Brown destroying Phan in the first round. After a takedown, Brown pushed him into a precarious position against the cage and completely unloaded on him, landing dozens of solid arm punches to the face and cutting Phan in the process.
Where do these guys go from here?
Brown gets to come back to the octagon once again, which was obviously the most important thing for him. He said in post-fight interviews that he felt like he might have been cursed, but the former WEC featherweight champion was able to turn it around and finally get that elusive W. Brown will likely get a upper mid-card featherweight next, perhaps Pablo Garza or Chan Sung Jung.
Phan looks to be in a bad position with an 0-2 record in the UFC, but he'll live to fight another day. He showed a lot of heart by rebounding from the butt-kicking he took in the first round, and clearly came back to win the second. He didn't look out of place against a former champion (even a champion that had fallen on hard times as of late), and I would expect that the UFC will give him his rematch with Leonard Garcia next, once Garcia is healthy enough to go.
Watch it now, later, or never?
Later. While Brown's savage beating of Phan in the first was pretty entertaining, he was never really close to finishing the fight. Phan showed off his standup in the second, landing some solid body shots, but it wasn't exactly Frye/Takayama in there. It's probably worth a watch at some point. Just not right now.
More BE coverage of UFC 133 in the full entry.
UFC 133 Results: Vitor Belfort's Illegal Finish Met With Shocking Ignorance - Leland Roling
UFC 133 Results: Vitor Belfort's Back of the Head Shots and Nonsensical Outrage - KJ Gould
UFC 133 Results: Five Fights to Make - Mike Fagan
UFC 133: Why We Love Tito Ortiz, and Why the UFC Needs Him - Fraser Coffeen
UFC 133 Results: Where Do We Go From Here? - Matthew Roth
UFC 133: The Sweet Stench of Homophobia - Mike Fagan
UFC 133 Results: Rashad Evans' Beats Up Tito Ortiz and More Post-Hangover Thoughts - Brent Brookhouse
UFC 133 Results: Rashad Evans vs. Tito Ortiz Post-Fight Recap and Analysis - Mike Fagan
UFC 133 Results: Rashad Evans Stops Tito Ortiz by Punishment - Bloody Elbow
UFC 133 Results: Vitor Belfort Stops Yoshihiro Akiyama in the First - Bloody Elbow
UFC 133 Results: Brian Ebersole Beats the Pants off of Dennis Hallman - Bloody Elbow
UFC 133 Results: Constantinos Philippou Scores a Split Decision Over Jorge Rivera - Bloody Elbow
UFC 133 Results: Rory MacDonald Pounds Mike Pyle to a First Round Stoppage - Bloody Elbow
UFC 133 Results: Alexander Gustafsson Mauls Matt Hamill in the Second - Bloody Elbow
UFC 133 Results: Chad Mendes Puts On A Clinic Against Rani Yahya - Bloody Elbow
UFC 133 Results: Ivan Menjivar Edges a Decision Over Nick Pace - Bloody Elbow
UFC 133 Results: Johny Hendricks Wins the Wrestling Match against Mike Pierce - Bloody Elbow
UFC 133 Results: Mike Brown Outwrestles Nam Phan to a Decision Win - Bloody Elbow
UFC 133 Results: Rafael Natal Punishes Paul Bradley to a Decision Win - Bloody Elbow
UFC 133 Post-Fight Press Conference Video and Updates - Bloody Elbow