OTTAWA, Ontario – Reporters tried really hard to get Derek Brunson to say who he wants to fight next in the aftermath of his impressive unanimous-decision victory over Elias Theodorou on Saturday night.
But Brunson never took the bait following the UFC on ESPN+ 9 co-main event at Canadian Tire Centre, and can you really blame him?
After all, Brunson (19-7 MMA, 10-5 UFC) proved something to himself against Theodorou (16-3 MMA, 7-3 UFC). After losing his patience and getting knocked out in back-to-back fights against “Jacare” Souza and Israel Adesanya in 2018, Brunson was able to stay patient against an opponent known for his patience and earned his first decision win since 2014.
“It’s funny, man. I’m a knockout guy, you know?” Brunson told reporters, including MMA Junkie. “In my previous wins, all of my last seven wins, I got knockouts in the first round. To come out here and get a decision after a rough year, it feels good, you know? Now I’ve got it in my mind I can go the distance with a guy who is known for cardio, who moves around a lot, makes you have to chase them, the whole bit. So I can take my time and be patient.”
Brunson’s moment of truth came when Theodorou tried to implement the gameplan that has brought him success in the UFC middleweight division. But Brunson never allowed himself to be goaded into any major mistakes.
“It’s different, you know?” Brunson said. “Especially when a guy is moving back. You have to stay engaged, and you’ve got to kind of move forward a little bit. He’s trying to make you move forward so he can explode in. Definitely kind of difficult guy to fight, and he’s a little bit harder to hit than I thought. I was faster. I had to make reads out there.”
Brunson did so successfully and, as such, got his hand raised after a UFC fight for the 10th time. The Wilmington, N.C., native has been in there with a who’s who of competitors at 185 pounds, with five former world champions among his wins and losses.
Since he’s been there and done that, then, he’s going to take a moment to enjoy the fact he’s successfully hit the reset button on his career after a tough 2018 campaign.
“It was a rough year, you know? Nobody is really fighting the guys I’ve been fighting. I fought the guys with the resumes,” Brunson said. “Sometimes if someone calls me out, I’ll fight anyone. I’m going to make the fight for the fans, but you know, just to get in there, just to get the momentum going back and forth, it felt good.”
To hear more from Brunson, check out the video above.
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