enlarge The Associated Press

Mike Brown, right, took the featherweight title from Urijah Faber a year ago, and has defended it twice. He will face a fighter who is 11 years younger in a televised defense tonight in Las Vegas.

TITLE FIGHT

WHO: Mike Brown vs. Jose Aldo

WHEN: Today

WHAT: Five-round fight for the World Extreme Cagefighting featherweight championship

WHERE: The The Pearl at The Palms, Las Vegas

TELEVISION: VERSUS, coverage begins at 9 p.m.

Mike Brown was sitting around in his dorm room at Norwich University back in 1995, watching an Ultimate Fighting Championship match on television.

"I fell in love with it," he said. "I thought, 'This is amazing.' I love the idea of putting two guys in a room, lock the door and see who comes out. Let them do whatever it takes, just see what they can do.

"After I saw that, I started training for it because I saw the beauty in the sport."

These days, Brown, a Portland native and Bonny Eagle High graduate, is the one being watched. And tonight he'll fight in what many are terming his "legacy fight."

Brown, 34, will defend his World Extreme Cagefighting featherweight championship against Jose Aldo, 11 years younger and hungry for the title, at The Pearl at The Palms in Las Vegas.

The five-round fight can be seen live at 9 p.m. on the Versus cable network.

This will be Brown's third championship defense since taking the title from Urijah Faber in an upset on Nov. 5, 2008. And it may be the defining moment of his career.

"Jose Aldo is considered, in (mixed martial arts) circles, one of the best in the world," said Reid Harris, founder of the WEC. "If Mike Brown gets through and wins this fight, he may go down as the best featherweight ever in the sport. That's how big it is for Mike."

Brown, contacted at his home base in Coconut Creek, Fla., dismisses such talk. "I've had a lot of big fights; it's hard to judge which one was the biggest," he said. "But there's no doubt this is a big one."

His life these days is, well, nearly perfect. Never, he said, "never in a million years did I think this was ever going to happen. It's a dream come true."

It's a dream founded in the reality of hard work, sweat and belief in himself. When Brown started in the WEC, the featherweight class didn't even exist. He fought against much stronger, heavier men.

"I did it to say I did it," he said.

Then the sport found a home in America's psyche. Maybe it's not mainstream just yet, but it's growing in popularity.

"Now I'm making a living at it," said Brown. "And what makes it easy is that it's my passion. It's what I love to do, and it's my job. It makes life easier when your work and play is the same thing. Life is really pretty good."

Brown trains with American Top Team, perhaps the nation's foremost MMA training center. He counts among his friends Kimbo Slice, a rugged Bahamian-born MMA fighter with a tough-guy image. Slice, said Brown, is nothing like that.

"He's a humble guy," Brown said of Slice. "He never talks bad about anyone, even if everyone talks about him."

Brown and Slice often talk about tactics since Brown is considered a heavy puncher and Slice is, well, a big man who hits hard.

And if Brown is going to win this fight, he's going to have to connect with one of those thunderous rights. Aldo is quick; hard to catch and hard to keep down.

Brown, who lost about 20 pounds to get to the weight limit of 145, is considered the much stronger of the two.

"He's fast, but I think if I can get hold of him and put my muscle on him, it will be hard for him to get away," said Brown. "I'm preparing for a war."

To prepare for Aldo's speed, Brown has been sparring with smaller, faster partners, such as Thiago Alves.

He left Saturday for Las Vegas, his training basically over. He said he's done everything he can to get ready, even working out with Jason LeHoullier, the Portland Boxing Club fighter who's staying with Brown at his home.

Now, "it's a matter of getting ready to roll," said Brown. "I'm ready."

In a poll of 17 writers who cover the WEC regularly, Brown was picked to win by 12.

Harris said Brown's success isn't entirely surprising, but no one predicted it, either.

"We knew who Mike Brown was prior to his coming to the WEC," said Harris. "He fought for UFC at 155. With that said,...