UFC Quick Quote: An 'improved' James Wilks is ready for Matt Brown at UFC 105

by Jesse Holland on Nov 12, 2009 12:19 PM EST

"This Saturday night I will be competing for the first time since winning season nine of The Ultimate Fighter back in June. Winning The Ultimate Fighter has allowed me to improve as a fighter and offered numerous doors for me. I’m now able to train like a UFC fighter and learn from the best coaches in the game, as opposed to just training like an aspiring mixed martial artist ... It’s been a long time coming and this UFC 105 show is going to be an incredible event ... I’m sure the noise and the magnitude of the event will knock me for six on Saturday night, but I’m doing my best to be prepared for it. One thing I’m definitely prepared for is my opponent Matt Brown."

-- The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 9 welterweight winner James Wilks blogs on Telegraph about his second straight underdog role (+125) coming into the November 14 "Couture vs. Vera" event against Matt Brown (-155). "Lightning" upset the heavily-favored DaMarques Johnson to win the crown at the June 20 TUF finale by dominating both on the ground and on his feet -- leaving many observers (including yours truly) feeling a bit hustled after a competent but hardly spectacular run through the Spike TV reality show. In any case, if Wilks continues to perform like he did back in June, it could be a long night for "The Immortal."

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Nice match up. Could be a very underrated barn burner.

by OJR on Nov 12, 2009 12:25 PM EST reply actions

Yep FOTN potential. I think he can actually get the W this Saturday. Though, Brown is a tough task for a first fight. The home crowd, the jitters and a never die mofo is a lot to overcome, but IMO Wilks got a better ground game than Brown. If Lytle was able to submitted him, I don’t see why Wilks won’t do it also. They both got decent stand up, so I expect a very good fight between two evenly match guys. If Wilks doesn’t gas or get KO before the 3rd rnd, he should be able to get a decision win over brown, b/c of the home judging advantage.

by Alpha Male on Nov 12, 2009 1:21 PM EST up reply actions

My thought to a tee cheers saves me from typing all of that :P

by JAMIE THE PEACH on Nov 12, 2009 1:34 PM EST up reply actions

I really like Wilks as the underdog in this fight. I wish you could bet on FOTN because this one takes it for sure as far as the main card is concerned. But there could be a couple great exciting fights on undercard too. Etim is always exciting (fighting Gugerty). JOhn Hathaway vs Paul Taylor should be great. Nick Opiczek vs Matt Riddle should be the best fight on the undercard.

by ViolentMike on Nov 12, 2009 2:29 PM EST up reply actions

Agreed VM! I would love to be at this event live because the undercard is going to be awesome!

take Swick off this card,and you got a good event!

by john G on Nov 12, 2009 2:39 PM EST up reply actions

Wilks-Brown is my pick for FOTN as well, Brown is as tough as you can get and has improved a lot since TUF, ever since he looked so good against Stun Gun I’ve been a fan. However Wilks is the real deal, he’s well rounded and has excellent BJJ, probabaly the best BJJ out of all of the British fighters and his American base has helped his grappling a lot, it’s far superior to that of British based fighters. Seeing how Brown got submitted by Amir I’ve got to go with Wilks, if he fights smart and gets an early takedown then he’ll win this by submission. Should be a good test for him and a win over Brown would make a huge statement.

The prelim is mixed, I’m looking forward to seeing Andre, Nick and Etim fight but I’m sick of Taylor and Kelly being on every UK card when neither of them are any good.

by David W-S on Nov 12, 2009 2:59 PM EST up reply actions

FOTN= randy vs vera

by Gd up on Nov 12, 2009 4:47 PM EST up reply actions

FOTN = randy vs bera is lol funny!!! not a chance that is the real fight of the night… dana might give them a bonus because we’ve seen him do it before when the fighters didnt deserve it (serra hughes) but no doubt there will be 2 or 3 better fights than randy vs vera!

by ItsNormlToSmokePot on Nov 12, 2009 7:06 PM EST up reply actions

Terry Etim is by FAR my favorite British fighter and, alongside Dustin Haze, my favorite up and coming fighter. FOR SURE, Etim will win his fight.

Wilks I was surprised to see as an underdog. Brown is tough, and I wont be surprised if he wins, but Wilks vs Johnson in the finale was just dominant. If the shows up like that again, long night for Brown.

I would think Wilks has a size advantage over Brown.

by Synyster on Nov 12, 2009 7:42 PM EST up reply actions

Good grapplers get subbed by lesser ones all the time. I think Brown has good ground skills, lets be honest Shogun has better Jits than Forrest but Forrest still choked him out.

by Edgecrusher71 on Nov 12, 2009 1:58 PM EST up reply actions

This will materialize into a very entertaining scrap! Wilks wont be overwhellmed or outclassed. I expect a War, and I have a feeling that wilks is going to look real impressive

by john G on Nov 12, 2009 2:06 PM EST up reply actions

wilks shouldn’t be outclassed brown wasn’t even a tuf semi-finalist. people saying this is a tough first fight for wilks are being stupid. that being said brown will destroy wilks, as wilks came off the worse season ever and hasn’t impressed me in any of his fights besides the finale fight.

WAR IMMORTAL!

by Jared on Nov 12, 2009 4:12 PM EST up reply actions

me too John, infact I’ll take Wilks in the 1st rnd either tko or sub

by McArthur on Nov 12, 2009 5:41 PM EST up reply actions

I wonder why the UFC and Joe Silva matched Wilkes against a seasoned fighter like Brown? Brown is a bad man, this is the hardest fight any TUF winner has had outta the gates. (maybe Stevenson v. Neer could compare) But I think Wilkes may be chilling with Danzig or taking easier fights like Sadollah in the future.

by dorts5150 on Nov 12, 2009 12:32 PM EST reply actions

I think they are giving him this fight cause of the way he bitched johnson about like he was nothing even tho he was the favrite to win the show. But you are right a really hard fight for James and worth putting money on him if he is the underdog. Ps i cant wait to see this fight live front row aswell :D

by JAMIE THE PEACH on Nov 12, 2009 1:38 PM EST up reply actions

Ya I think this will be a awesome and difficult fight.

by Syncro on Nov 12, 2009 12:38 PM EST reply actions

This may be fight of the night. These two always come to fight. I hate to see one of them lose.

by Rob on Nov 12, 2009 1:58 PM EST reply actions

Glad to see almost everyone is hyped for this fight. I like Brown but I think the underdog takes this one.

by DolFan on Nov 12, 2009 4:29 PM EST reply actions

1st o 2nd round tko for matt the man of many ass beatins brown!!!

by d*locc on Nov 12, 2009 6:51 PM EST reply actions

these tuf cans just arent what they used to be….

there was a time when being a member of tuf meant you were a good fighter…now as soon as one season is over you’re easily forgotten….

kinda like american idol…

remember all the cast that came out of season 1?

these are all still active fighters on the roster…how many other seasons still have 8 fighters from the original cast still actively fighting in the ufc?

none..

forrest
kenflo
kos
diego
swick
bonner
leben
quarry

after about season 3 tuf became an absolute joke…you’re lucky if there are still 3 guys from each season still on the active ufc roster…but look at the original season…look at that fucking cast…

forrest, kenflo, koscheck, diego, swick, bonner, leben, quarry…these guys have all gone on to have successful careers in the ufc….

then theres rashad and bisping….

but how many winners have become jokes now?

serra?
leutter?
danzig?
diaz?
grove?

tuf is a joke….its used as nothing more than to fill unaired cards with….

there will never ever ever be a season to equal the talent out of season 1

by HellaHectic on Nov 12, 2009 7:20 PM EST reply actions