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It wasn’t simply adversity outside of the cage that challenged Baeza in Year One either.
In his first appearance of 2020, the unbeaten MMA Masters representative was paired off with “technical brawler” Matt Brown, the grizzled welterweight mainstay, and over the first half of the opening stanza, the veteran was out in front, putting the man known as “Caramel Thunder” on shaky legs after a barrage of punches and elbows along the fence.
But just as he’s done outside the cage throughout his UFC adventure, Baeza navigated the challenges inside the Octagon as well, shaking out the cobwebs and going on the offensive over the final two minutes of the first round, sitting Brown down with a big right hand and finishing the frame with momentum in his favor.
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Eighteen seconds in Round Two, the sophomore closed things out with a flourish, uncorking a left hook that put Brown on the deck and prompted referee Jason Herzog to immediately jump in and wave off the fight.
It was the kind of finish Baeza hoped would bring him increased recognition, which hasn’t exactly been the case.
“Now I’m ‘The Guy Who Beat Matt Brown,’” he said with a laugh, acknowledging that he’s getting recognized more, just not by name quite yet. “It’s not Miguel Baeza just yet; it’s ‘Hey — you beat Matt Brown, right?’
“I thought the ‘Caramel Thunder’ thing would stick too; that’s kind of one of the reasons I went for it, you know?” he added, still chuckling at his new standing as a “unknown known guy” within the MMA community. “I definitely have a little more notoriety, people see me more now — again, not as Miguel Baeza, but when you beat somebody, they recognize you a little more, so that’s a step in the right direction.”
While casual-to-moderate fight fans may not know him by name just yet, ardent observers recognize that Baeza is one of the top emerging talents in the welterweight division.