Is Cole Miller Underestimating Junie Browning?
Apparently Cole Miller’s mother never told him that if you don’t have something nice to say about someone, you shouldn’t say anything at all. Talking to Steve Cofield (it doesn’t get remotely interesting until a little after the six-minute mark), Miller responds to a question about what he thinks of Junie Browning on a technical level by saying: “Nothing. I don’t think he’s technical at all.”
Miller then goes on to point out that Browning has never tapped out or knocked out anyone who matters, before then comparing him to past opponents like Andy Wang and concluding that Browning is the worst fighter he’s faced in the UFC, next to Allen Berube (ouch!).
So is Miller right about Browning? Maybe. We don’t really know for sure, since all we’ve really seen of him comes from his “Ultimate Fighter” antics and his submission victory over Dave Kaplan, who’s not exactly top-level competition. But even if he is right, I’m not sure it’s such a great idea to go around talking about how almost-comically bad your next opponent is. If you manage to get people to believe that he’s one of the worst fighters ever to step into the Octagon, then it’s not enough to just beat him. You have to beat him quickly and effortlessly, otherwise you look like a punk.
“If you manage to get people to believe that he’s one of the worst fighters ever to step into the Octagon, then it’s not enough to just beat him. You have to beat him quickly and effortlessly, otherwise you look like a punk.”
Maybe..but perhaps this is the inevitable result of Junie’s behavior on TUF. Fans and fighters alike are eager to sound off about him. Look how long it took Koscheck to start to shed the TUF animus – and Kos’ antics seem angelic compared to Junie.