Derek Brunson News

James Lynch - November 3, 2018

Israel Adesnaya looks build off his impressive win over Brad Tavares in July as he’s set to face Derek Brunson at UFC 230 tonight. Being a young, outspoken, undefeated middleweight, “The Last Stylebender” often finds himself compared to former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones. While many fans are quick to make these comparisons, Adesanya’s UFC 230 opponent isn’t one of them.

Tom Taylor - November 1, 2018

At a glance, UFC 230’s Derek Brunson vs. Israel Adesanya bout looks like a two-outcome fight. The widespread thinking seems to be that Adesanya will win the fight with his superior striking, or that Brunson will win with his world-class wrestling. Based on the middleweights’ records and skillsets, you would not be faulted for thinking this way. The fighters, however, have other ideas.

Tom Taylor - November 1, 2018

Photo by Mitch Viquez On Saturday night, the UFC will return to Madison Square Garden in New York City with UFC 230. One of the most interesting fights on the bill is a middleweight contender bout between pinpoint striker Israel Adesanya and ferocious wrestler Derek Brunson.

Tom Taylor - August 16, 2018

On November 3, on the main card of UFC 230, long-time UFC middleweight contender Derek Brunson will attempt to slow the hype train of kickboxing transplant Israel Adesanya. In Brunson’s opinion, however, the hype surrounding Adesanya is way overblown. In fact, Brunson believes that Adesanya is very flawed, and that he’ll be one of the easiest matchups he’ll have in the UFC.

Drake Riggs - July 30, 2018

UFC 230 is already setting up to be an unofficial middleweight tournament and the bracket only appears to be getting bigger. Already added to the November 3rd Madison Square Garden event is a trio of awesome 185-pound clashes. Most notably is the recent title challenger Yoel Romero taking on the red-hot rising contender, Paulo Costa.

Tom Taylor - July 25, 2018

Surging UFC middleweight contender Israel Adesanya has recently been angling for a fight with the former champion Anderson Silva. While Silva says he doesn’t know who Adesanya is, there’s another top middleweight who does: Derek Brunson. Derek Brunson recently took to Twitter to call for a fight with Israel Adesanya. He’s hoping to fight Adesanya at UFC 230 on November 3 in New York City — a card that will feature a trio of other, huge middleweight fights. 

Drake Riggs - July 4, 2018

Preparing for his biggest fight to date, The Ultimate Fighter Brazil 3 winner, Antonio Carlos Junior may now have to prepare for even longer. Riding an impressive five-fight winning streak that consists of four rear-naked-choke victories (three consecutive), Carlos Junior is poised for a step up in competition and he was set to get it against Derek Brunson at UFC 227 on August 4th in Los Angeles, California.

Tom Taylor - February 22, 2018

Over the last few days, Derek Brunson has made multiple Twitter callouts of former UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping. He even shared what looked like a signed bout agreement to fight the former champion. I gotta go to the Fox studio to find @bisping I see. You’re ranked 6, I’m ranked 7. Let’s exchange @AliAbdelaziz00 @Mickmaynard2 @ufc @danawhite

Tom Taylor - February 18, 2018

Though former UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping has recently been linked to bouts with fellow legends such as Vitor Belfort, Rashad Evans and Lyoto Machida, he’s still without an opponent for the highly anticipated final bout of his career. Bisping’s fellow top-10 middleweight Derek Brunson is hoping to change that. Brunson made a callout of the former middleweight champion on Twitter on Sunday morning, suggesting he might just head to the Fox Sports studio, where Bisping moonlights as an analyst, and pick a fight.

Chris Taylor - February 17, 2018

UFC middleweight contender Derek Brunson decided to take a jab at surging welterweight contender Colby Covington on social media earlier this evening. Covington had taken to Twitter with the following video earlier this afternoon where he announced that #NerdBash2018 was officially on and that nobody was safe.

Tom Taylor - January 28, 2018

Last night, in the main event of the UFC’s anticipated stop in Charlotte, North Carolina, long-time middleweight contender Derek Brunson returned to the loss column thanks to a thudding first-round head-kick dealt by former Strikeforce champ Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza. Despite the fact that he has now lost twice to Souza, and that he’s now 2-3 in his last 5, Brunson is still optimistic he can find his way to the top of the UFC middleweight division.

Chris Taylor - January 27, 2018

A key middleweight scrap between Derek Brunson and Jacare Souza headlined tonight’s UFC fight card in Charlotte. Round one begins and Brunson fires off a leg kick to get things started. Jacare comes forward with a front kick that misses. Brunson responds with a front kick of his own but it also comes up short. Souza circles and then throws a kick to the body that lands. He follows that up with a nice low kick. Brunson comes forward with a left hand. He is being very patient early on. Derek with a nice kick to the body. Souza feints and then comes forward with a left. Brunson slips and then gets up and lands a left hand. He charges forward with a combination. Jacare counters beautifully with a left. Souza lands a big head kick. Brunson is hurt. Souza with a left hand. Derek is rocked. More punches from Souza and this one is all over.

Drake Riggs - January 9, 2018

UFC on Fox 27 in Charlotte, North Carolina will be the UFC’s first event in the state since 2010 and their fourth ever. Headlining will be the hometown top Middleweight contender, Derek Brunson when he takes on the perennial top five 185er, Jacare Souza in a rematch from their 2012 Strikeforce meeting. Jacare won the fight in just forty-one seconds as he had the very clear experience advantage. Now things are a bit more evened out and Brunson knows it. Brunson discussed the rematch and what he wants to happen after in an interview with Clture. “When I fought him before, I was fresh out of college, right when I first started fighting. So I came in as a straight wrestler and it takes a long time to develop your boxing skills, your muay thai skills, to not over-extend yourself when you punch, but actually being able to throw a punch and not leave yourself in danger is a key point. I’m a different fighter now. I’ve been able to knock guys out clean here recently because I’ve been able to find that mix, to find that happy medium.

Justin Golightly - December 8, 2017

There have been mixed reactions to the recent news of Georges St-Pierre leaving middleweight and vacating the title he just won a month ago. It was his battle with his stomach in the arduous rode to weight gain that resulted in ulcerative colitis, prompting St-Pierre to abandon the division. Ignoring the negativity, we’ll focus directly on the positive. Eighth-ranked Derek Brunson has his eyes set on a springboard right at the top of the middleweight rankings with a win over Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza. GSP vacates. That’s a real martial artist. Way to not stall the division. Best of luck bro! A win over #3 Jacare puts me next in line for the title shot 👊

Tom Taylor - November 29, 2017

Fresh off a first-round drubbing of former light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida, Derek Brunson says his next fight has already been signed. Speaking to ESPN, Brunson revealed that he’s inked a contract for a bout with former Strikeforce middleweight champ Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza, and he believes Souza has signed a bout agreement too. The fight is expected to go down on January 27, in the main event of a UFC on Fox card in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Adam Conklin - November 20, 2017

The middleweight division has become as perplexing as it is stacked. Now with former UFC welterweight king Georges St-Pierre at the helm, and an interim champ working his way back to the cage, the rest of the division continues to sort it self out. Already illustrating this sentiment is champ Michael Bisping, who is making an immediate turnaround to take on #9 Kelvin Gastelum this Saturday night.

Tom Taylor - November 2, 2017

Last weekend, in the main event of the UFC’s action packed returned to Sao Paulo, Brazil, Derek Brunson shot up the middleweight rankings with a first-round drubbing of Lyoto Machida. Post-fight, when pressed by on-duty color commentator Daniel Cormier, Brunson issued a fun callout of former UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold.

Chris Taylor - October 28, 2017

UFC middleweight contender Derek Brunson picked up a huge win in the headliner of last night’s UFC Fight Night 119 event in Sao Paulo, defeating Lyoto Machida via first-round knockout. Brunson was able to rock “The Dragon” with a nasty left hand before eventually putting him to sleep with some viscous ground and pound.