A pair of standout middleweights have teed up a fight for December.
Jack Hermansson (23-7 MMA, 10-5 UFC) has been targeted for a fight with Derek Brunson (23-8 MMA, 14-6 UFC) at a UFC event planned for Dec. 3. A person with knowledge of the booking confirmed the matchup to MMA Junkie on Saturday, but asked to remain anonymous since the promotion has not formally announced the fight. The booking first was reported by The MMA Hour.
Hermansson got back in the win column just a few weeks ago with a unanimous decision over Chris Curtis in London. In February, he dropped a split decision to Sean Strickland. After a four-fight winning streak in 2018-2019, the 34-year-old Swede has alternated wins and losses his past six fights.
Brunson will be looking to rebound after a knockout loss to Jared Cannonier in a title eliminator at UFC 271 in February. That setback snapped a five-fight winning streak that had him in position to challenge for the middleweight title. Instead, Cannonier got that shot and lost a decision to champ Israel Adesanya.
During his lengthy tenure in the UFC, Brunson’s six losses have been only to elite-level opponents, including former title challenger Yoel Romero, former champs Robert Whittaker and Anderson Silva and current champ Adesanya.
The Dec. 3 card hasn’t been announced by the UFC, but is likely to broadcast on ESPN and ESPN+.
With the addition, the UFC’s Dec. 3 lineup now includes:
- Derek Brunson vs. Jack Hermansson
- Tracy Cortez vs. Amanda Ribas
- Matheus Nicolau vs. Matt Schnell
- Eryk Anders vs. Kyle Daukaus
