American Top Team coach Mike Brown details experience cornering fighters under COVID-19 safety protocols as UFC resumed operations.
Mike Brown was there for it all.
The American Top Team coach cornered fighters in each the three cards that marked the UFC’s return after postponing events for almost 2 months in consequence of travel bans and restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Brown worked with Bryce Mitchell at UFC 249 on May 9, Andrei Arlovski at UFC Jacksonville on May 13, and Krzysztof Jotko at UFC on ESPN 8 on May 16. The trio of events went down in Jacksonville, Fla., where the UFC was deemed an essential business during lockdown and was overseen by the Florida State Boxing Commission, which regulated the UFC’s COVID-19 safety protocols.
These measures included many changes to the whole experience surrounding UFC fight week, including no open workouts or ceremonial weigh-ins, a virtual media day, social distancing measures, COVID-19 testing, limited cornermen and staff, and much more.
“The fighters loved it, and to be honest, it’s a lot less work, less stress,” Brown told MMA Junkie. “(It’s) less work, but on the other hand, it’s not good for the fans. The fans are missing out, and that’s a big part of it. It’s not as good for the business. But who wouldn’t like less work, less interviews, less this, less that, less running, a lot less appearances? So that’s great. But at the end of the day, that’s probably not the best thing for business.
“It’s good to have interaction with fans, good to have people in the crowd, gate sales, yada yada yada, and all kinds of revenues being generated. As far as stress and things you have to do, we’re in a day later, we have a lot less obligations, no fans around – which I’m not saying it’s a bad thing. It’s just a lot more quiet. It’s easy going and you’re in and out of things a lot quicker.
“Some people really love that, being surrounded by fans, and that’s a big part of it and it gives energy to a lot of people. So it’s good and bad for different people for different reasons.”
Fight week wasn’t the only thing different for events being held during a global pandemic. The actual lead-up the day of the fight had major differences, as social distancing disrupted the normal flow of the locker room where fighters await for their times to make the walk to the cage.
“In this situation, when you arrive at the venue, there’s one other guy in the locker room and they’re trying to get him out of there as quickly as possible,” Brown said. “So right when you get there, they’re gone. So it’s not like a crowded locker room where you see people going in and out, and you know, people coming in crying, people screaming, psyching themselves up, people coming in bloodied, battered, and crying or cheering. There’s tons of emotion in the locker room, which you don’t have in this situation because they’re not allowing locker rooms to be full.
“Normally, especially if you’re not a main event, you could have everybody, you can have the entire red corner in your locker room on a given night, so that was not the case in this situation. A lot less people around, the locker rooms are empty, so a different experience, but fun.”
When it came down to stepping out to the arena, which was empty due to bans of large gatherings, the feeling behind the significance of the moment was different. The lack of thousands of fans cheering and screaming as the fighters walk out and get a final look at each other inside the octagon before fists start flying took a toll on the experience.
“It feels like a step above practice,” Brown said. “Obviously the stakes are higher, but it’s definitely less stressful because you’re not feeling the weight of the outcome as much. There’s a giant weight of the outcome when you’re competing and I think the crowd exemplifies it. You have all these people screaming and you realize the magnitude of what’s going on and winning and losing means so much.
“It means the amount of money you’re going to make, it’s about what your future money will bring in, it’s about your ego, it’s about your health. I mean a lot is on the line every time you step out there and with the big crowd and the locker room full, you really get a sense of that.”
When it came down to the fighting, several things immediately became clear for fans watching at home. The strikes landed by the fighters were much louder without an audience and the advice of the corners and analysis of the commentators was clear to everyone in the arena and watching at home.
“You have to be a little more strategic because you know everyone is hearing things so clearly,” Brown said. “They don’t have to weave through voices, kind of everyone hears what’s going on on both sides.
“The weirdest part is that you could hear the commentating very clear. Specifically with the Rosa fight, things weren’t going our way and so of course they were being critical in a way – and maybe rightfully so. But in a way, you’re like, ‘Damn.’ You hear them talking about the fight, so that was little strange.
“And even at one point, I remember hearing, I don’t remember who it was – maybe Jon Anik – when he came back I heard him talking to them, ‘Hey, I can hear everything you guys are saying.’ They didn’t even realize how we could hear and somebody went to get a drink or go to the bathroom or something and they took their headphones off so they didn’t realize how loud they were talking because they had headphones on.
“The corner could hear everything the commentary was saying crystal clear. I don’t know about the fighters because it’s a little chaotic, but the corners definitely could – and obviously Greg (Hardy) did. Greg was also hearing what the corners were saying and that was probably the strangest part about the whole thing. It could be a good thing or a bad thing depending on how critical they were.”
Brown noted some fighters enjoyed the serenity more than others.
Veteran and former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski, who defeated Philipe Lins, said he enjoyed the lack of noise. While for Rosa, who lost in a dominant decision to Bryce Mitchell, Brown believes the lack of crowd might’ve not done his fighter any favors as he tends to build off the audience. Either way, Brown believes it was a small factor and didn’t determine the outcome of the fight.
Despite all the changes the pandemic has brought on professional fighting (and the swab test, which Brown didn’t enjoy), Brown is happy to be back in business.
“It’s good to have the entertainment back on,” Brown said. “Three fights in one week was nice – good to see everyone back to work.”
