Still learning: Junie Browning interview with MMAmaniahttp://www.mmamania.com/2009/11/25/1174 ... owning-bigOn Dec. 12, 2009, Junie Browning exited the Octagon at "The Ultimate Fighter" (TUF) 8 Finale with a submission victory over "Diamond" Dave Kaplan. The victory came after a drama-infused season that saw Browning as the villain of the house, garnering the "bad boy" image through his wild antics.
However, regardless of his former actions, it appeared as perhaps "The Lunatik" may have found level ground and a formerly unknown maturity through his connection with X-Treme Couture and the guidance of his coach, Shawn Tompkins.
Just one year removed from his victory over Kaplan, the success and progress seems to have eluded Browning, as an arrest, alleged suicide attempt, and subsequent release from the UFC have set back the dramatic lightweight’s career.
Now more than one month after the unfortunate event that led to Browning being accused of assaulting three nurses and attempting to harm himself after ingesting 16 Klonopin capsules, the Kentucky native is looking to revamp his devastated image and damaged career, signing on for a stint with MMA Big Show.
Browning is set to debut in the promotion on Nov. 28 at the Belterra Casino in Indiana against Scott Cornwell. The lightweight battle is the main feature for the evening’s event that is titled "Onslaught".
Cornwell last fought at MMA Big Show: "Mayhem" in Sept. of last year, winning his first professional fight with a submission over Charles Cooper. Needless to say, Browning will be the toughest opponent he has ever faced.
However, for Browning, the step into MMA Big Show is quite a difference after competing on the highest level of the sport, the UFC. Cornwell may prove a tough opponent, but Browning has too much to prove in this bout.
The fight is not only an opportunity for Browning to rebound from the unfortunate situations that have plagued his life over the past month, but it proves an opportunity for him to recover from his first ever professional loss, which came at the hands of Cole Miller at UFC Fight Night 18.
A victory over Cornwell would be a much needed positive moment for the young UFC veteran in a year that has been filled with negative events and unfortunate situations. Perhaps Browning’s road to redemption will begin this weekend in MMA Big Show.
Yet before his road to redemption begins Saturday night with a lightweight battle against Cornwell, Browning sat down with MMAmania.com to address his unfortunate arrest last month, his upcoming bout, and his career aspirations, which include holding the UFC lightweight belt.
Here we go:
Star-divide
Nate Lawson (MMAmania.com): After a short stint in the UFC, you are now set to move forward with your mixed martial arts career. How did your relationship with MMA Big Show begin?
Junie Browning: I used to watch it when I was an amateur a lot. I used to go to a lot of local shows and stuff that was around Kentucky, and it was a nice show. Production wise, it was one of the best shows that I have been to, so I’m pretty psyched about fighting in it. Plus, it’s pretty close to home.
Nate Lawson (MMAmania.com): Scott Cornwell will be your first opponent fighting with MMA Big Show, and the fight is less than one month away now. What do you know about your opponent?
Junie Browning: That he sucks. No, I’m joking. He’s pretty good. I’ve seen him fight. He’s a pretty tough guy. He has a real unorthodox style. Probably makes it complicated standing, but I feel that I’m more well-rounded in pretty much every single aspect of the game.
Nate Lawson (MMAmania.com): Cornwell is relatively inexperienced when it comes to fighting, but you have fought on the highest level in mixed martial arts. What kind of role will your experience play in this fight?
Junie Browning: Not even just fighting in the UFC alone, but training with the … I mean I train with some of the highest level guys in the world. Going from that to fighting a dude that trains in some small gym … I’ve trained in smaller gyms and I’ve trained in bigger ones, and I do know the difference of the quality of training. There’s a big difference.
Nate Lawson (MMAmania.com): How is your training going at X-Treme Couture?
Junie Browning: I actually switched camps. I’m training at TapouT now. TapouT Training Center.
Nate Lawson (MMAmania.com): Oh right. You went with Tompkins over to TapouT?
Junie Browning: I mean, a lot of guys from X-Treme are still over there. I just decided I wanted to go because I started with him over there. I’m the kind of person who tries to stay pretty loyal. That’s who I started with, so that’s who I’m gonna finish with.
Nate Lawson (MMAmania.com): What would you like to tell your fans regarding your upcoming fight? Why should they be interested in MMA Big Show?
Junie Browning: Because I’m going to put on a really good show, and I’m going to smash someone’s face in, and probably knock his head off his shoulders.
Nate Lawson (MMAmania.com): How do you see this fight ending?
Junie Browning: To be honest with you, submission. Probably not a knockout. He actually is pretty tough standing. He’s real unorthodox. He’s real tough. He’s a decent wrestler, so I would definitely say submission either on top or on bottom. Doesn’t matter. I’m just on a different level on the ground.
Nate Lawson (MMAmania.com): Cole Miller submitted you at "UFC Fight Night: Condit vs. Kampmann", and so many fighters say you learn much more from a loss than from a win. What did your first career loss teach you?
Junie Browning: More about nerves. How much fighting in front of a big crowd can really affect you. I didn’t think it would bother me that much, but it was 20,000 people there and it was on national television. It affected me a lot. I think that’s the only positive I can get from exiting the UFC, is that I can get more experience from smaller shows, so when I one day come back I won’t be as nervous and I can show my full potential.
Nate Lawson (MMAmania.com): So are you looking towards a possible rematch with Cole Miller some day?
Junie Browning: I will rematch him in a fucking garage if I could.
Nate Lawson (MMAmania.com): Oh yeah? You don’t like him very much?
Junie Browning: It ain’t that I don’t like him. It’s that he sucks, and I can’t believe that I lost to someone that sucks that bad. It was a dumb mistake. It’s where experience comes into play. You know, he’s been in situations like that, fighting in front of big crowds before, and I haven’t. And my nerves got to me. I mean, he’s not a good fighter. Look at Efrain. Efrain Escudero knocked him out and Efrain has zero stand up. I shouldn’t have been trying to be cocky, going for takedowns. I should have just tried to knock him out.
Nate Lawson (MMAmania.com): Ever since your time on "The Ultimate Fighter" you have been tagged with the "bad boy" image. Is that image going to continue, or are you looking to make a different name for yourself nowadays?
Junie Browning: I don’t necessarily try to portray myself in any way. Think about this. A lot of people don’t realize is that I get in a cage and fight another human being for money. I’m not the most sane person. The only difference between me and other fighters is that there aren’t any cameras and this and that. They have the same problems I do. I go out with some of the fighters. I see them drinking. I see them partying. A lot of them party harder than I do. Quinton "Rampage" led the police on a police chase for fucking miles. I mean, I don’t understand why people aren’t criticizing him more.
Nate Lawson (MMAmania.com): At the beginning of last month, a situation went down in the St. Rose Dominican Hospital. Could you reflect on the event and the days that followed at all?
Junie Browning: It was just a dumb mistake, man. I made some poor decisions that led me to end up in the hospital. At the time I was at the hospital, what people fail to realize is that I was in the wrong state of mind. It wasn’t really me in that situation. I actually don’t even remember anything that happened that night really. I must’ve thought people were attacking me or something. I don’t know. I wasn’t in the right state of mind. It wasn’t even that I had been drinking. Just some other things happened.
Nate Lawson (MMAmania.com): How far have you come in terms of recovery from the event and the repercussions? Have you done a lot of soul searching or anything?
Junie Browning: I mean, I haven’t like gone to the Vatican or anything. The problem with me is that I had all this stuff thrown on me at once. I’m a fucking poor kid that grew up in a trailer in Kentucky, then all of a sudden I have my face on magazines and shit. It was sort of overwhelming and I’m still immature sort of. I still have a lot to learn. I make mistakes like everybody else. I’ll improve. That’s the key. Just like in MMA, you’re always trying to improve. I’m just trying to improve as a person.
Nate Lawson (MMAmania.com): Shawn Tompkins, your coach, made it sound like you may never fight again, but obviously that’s not the case. Was there a decision process? Was not fighting ever really an option?
Junie Browning: No, I mean there’s really nothing. I got this grenade tattoo on my hand. I can’t even get a job at McDonalds. So fighting’s pretty much the only option. There’s really no other job I could really do. Maybe porn.
Nate Lawson (MMAmania.com): Well, you’ve heard about "War Machine"? Do you know War Machine?
Junie Browning: Man, he actually tried to talk me into doing a movie with him. He called me one time and was like, ‘Dude, look, they’re gonna do this movie and we get three chicks a piece and they’re gonna market it like crazy and stuff.’ And I was like, ‘Dude, I don’t know if I can do that to be honest with you.’ That’s like my last resort.
Nate Lawson (MMAmania.com): What do you think about him doing that?
Junie Browning: I judge people very rarely. It ain’t like he’s going to be doing much of anything else, you know what I mean. We’re not very good at anything else besides fighting and fucking. I’ve hung out with him. He’s a little strange, but he’s a good guy. I mean, he’s good-hearted guy. He just makes mistakes. And we just have that thing in our brain. What do you want to call it? A conscience? We don’t really have that. I can’t really judge him. I have no room to judge him. I’m not any better. He can do what he wants to do.
Nate Lawson (MMAmania.com): Well back to Shawn Tompkins. He said that him and his wife would care for you in the days following the event, and later stated that he felt he had nearly lost his own son. Could you describe your relationship with Tompkins?
Junie Browning: To be honest with you, I owe Shawn my life. He took me in after the show when I thought it would be hard to get anyone to train me. I think what he realized is that everyone makes mistakes. He has treated me like a son. He realizes that I’m not as bad of a guy that people think I am. I just make mistakes. I mean, we weren’t all raised the same. And I can’t use that as an excuse, but in a way you sort of can. My whole life I have been around crazy-ass fucking rednecks, and alcoholics, and drug abusers. To be honest with you, I think I’ve made it pretty far from what I came from.
Nate Lawson (MMAmania.com): You are only 24 years old, which means you should have a lot of years of fights left in you. Where do you see your career taking you? What is your ultimate goal in your MMA career?
Junie Browning: To be back in the UFC, and I will be back. People that think I won’t be, they don’t know much about fighting. I mean, there’s just no way. There’s not much competition outside the UFC, and, to be honest with you, give me a couple years and there won’t be much competition inside the UFC for me.
Nate Lawson (MMAmania.com): Can your fans ever expect you in an organization such as Strikeforce, Bellator, DREAM, or Sengoku at some point?
Junie Browning: Most definitely. I’ve already had offers to fight for some bigger organizations. I just want to take this time to improve myself a little bit as a fighter. That whole nerves thing came into play where I fought in a big show. I want to use this time to gain a little experience in smaller shows. Once I do go back (to the UFC) I’ll have that experience and won’t be so nervous in the cage.
Nate Lawson (MMAmania.com): So at some point in your career you are going to hold the UFC lightweight belt?
Junie Browning: I will for sure. It might not be one year, it might not be two years, it might be five years from now. But I will. I’ll be the champion by default. I’m just too athletic. I’m getting the experience I need. I’m just training with too good of guys. It’s just a matter of time. What people fail to realize, when I was in the UFC, I had the least experience out of every single fighter in the UFC out of every weight class. No one has been training as little as I have. No one has my level of athleticism. Where some people reach their peak, they can only do so much with their level of athleticism. With mine, there’s no peak to me. I’m just going to keep getting better and better and better and better.
Nate Lawson (MMAmania.com): So sky’s the limit?
Junie Browning: Yeah, for sure. Everyone will see. I don’t care. I have a lot of doubters, but they’ll see.
Nate Lawson (MMAmania.com): Is there a certain drive within you to prove everybody wrong that is going against you?
Junie Browning: I mean, that’s pretty much it. The way I believe life works is that there’s no purpose. There’s no reason for us to be on this planet. In order to make it through this life I have to have some kind of goal, and my goal is to be the best. That’s the only thing I look forward to in life. You know what I mean?
Nate Lawson (MMAmania.com): Well that about wraps it up. Is there anything you would like to add? Anyone you would like to thank?
Junie Browning: Shawn Tompkins, Tapout Training Center, and everyone from Lexington, Kentucky Four Seasons.
