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USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
MMA Junkie Staff

MMA rankings report, August 5: Derek Brunson’s show of force

Derek Brunson put the UFC middleweight division on notice Saturday: Anyone who had decided he is no longer a factor at 185 pounds was badly mistaken.

Brunson was all but counted out going into his main event against Edmen Shahbazyan, who was 4-0 in the UFC with three straight first-round finishes and considered the next big thing in the division.

But Brunson put on the sort of show which showed that he’s in the right zone to display veteran smarts while maintaining his peak physical skills, as he taught his young foe a lesson in their UFC on ESPN+ 31 main event in Las Vegas.

So where does that put Brunson in the latest MMA Junkie/USA Today rankings? Our own John Morgan and “Gorgeous” George Garcia break down that, and everything else coming out of last weekend’s fight slate, in the latest MMA Junkie rankings report, which you can watch in the video linked above.

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