Derek Brunson facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Derek Brunson |
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| Born | Derek T. Brunson January 4, 1984 Wilmington, North Carolina, U.S. |
| Other names | The One |
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (185 cm) |
| Weight | 186 lb (84 kg; 13.3 st) |
| Division | Middleweight |
| Reach | 77 in (196 cm) |
| Style | Wrestling, BJJ |
| Stance | Southpaw |
| Fighting out of | Wilmington, North Carolina, U.S. |
| Team | Port City Sports Performance (until 2019) Kill Cliff FC (2019–present) Renzo Gracie Academy Jackson's MMA (formerly) |
| Rank | Black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Renzo Gracie |
| Wrestling | NCAA Division II Wrestling |
| Years active | 2010–present |
| Mixed martial arts record | |
| Total | 33 |
| Wins | 24 |
| By knockout | 12 |
| By submission | 4 |
| By decision | 8 |
| Losses | 9 |
| By knockout | 7 |
| By decision | 2 |
| University | North Carolina at Pembroke |
Derek T. Brunson, born on January 4, 1984, is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Light heavyweight division of the Professional Fighters League (PFL). Before joining the PFL, he was well-known for his 21 fights in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) from 2012 to 2023. In the UFC, he mostly competed in the Middleweight division.
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Early Life and Sports
Derek Brunson grew up in Wilmington, North Carolina. In high school, he was a talented cheerleader and wrestler. He went to John T. Hoggard High School where Dan Willis was his coach.
Brunson received scholarships for both cheerleading and wrestling. He decided to focus on wrestling in college. He attended the University of North Carolina at Pembroke. There, he became a three-time NCAA Division II All-American wrestler. He studied criminal justice and sociology. After college, he decided to become a professional mixed martial artist.
Mixed Martial Arts Journey
Derek Brunson started his professional MMA career in May 2010. His first fight was against John Bryant, and he won quickly. He won his first six fights, most of them ending in the first round!
Fighting in Strikeforce
Brunson joined Strikeforce in June 2011. He won his first fight there against Jeremy Hamilton. Just a month later, he fought Lumumba Sayers and won by submission.
In November 2011, he won another fight against Nate James. He was supposed to fight Ronaldo Souza in March 2012. However, he couldn't get a fight license because he wore contact lenses, which was against the rules in Ohio. He had a special eye surgery (LASIK) to fix this. He later fought Souza in August 2012 but lost that match.
Joining the UFC
Brunson was chosen for The Ultimate Fighter 17. But he had to leave the show because of his old contract with Showtime.
He made his UFC debut in December 2012. He stepped in at the last minute to fight Chris Leben at UFC 155. Even though he was a big underdog, Brunson won by using his strong wrestling skills.
He had a few fights planned that didn't happen due to injuries or other issues. In November 2013, he fought Brian Houston. Brunson won quickly with a head kick and then a rear-naked choke.
He had a tough rematch with Yoel Romero in January 2014. Brunson was winning the first two rounds, but then he lost in the third round. Both fighters received a bonus for the Fight of the Night.
Brunson signed a new four-fight contract with the UFC in February 2014. He continued to win, beating Lorenz Larkin in August 2014. In January 2015, he defeated Ed Herman with a quick TKO.
He faced Sam Alvey in August 2015 and won by TKO in the first round. In February 2016, he won against Roan Carneiro with another first-round TKO. This was his third TKO win in a row!
In September 2016, Brunson fought Uriah Hall. He won by TKO in the first round after knocking Hall down.
He then faced Robert Whittaker in November 2016. It was an exciting fight, but Brunson lost in the first round. Both fighters earned a Fight of the Night bonus.
In February 2017, Brunson fought the famous Anderson Silva. Brunson lost by decision, but many people thought he should have won.
He bounced back in June 2017, beating Dan Kelly with a first-round knockout. In October 2017, he won against Lyoto Machida with a first-round knockout, earning a Performance of the Night bonus.
Brunson had a rematch with Ronaldo Souza in January 2018 but lost in the first round. He later faced Israel Adesanya in November 2018 and lost by TKO.
He got back to winning ways in 2019, beating Elias Theodorou and Ian Heinisch by decision. In December 2019, Brunson signed a new six-fight contract with the UFC.
In August 2020, he defeated Edmen Shahbazyan by TKO in the third round. He then won against Kevin Holland in March 2021 by unanimous decision. In September 2021, he won against Darren Till with a submission.
Brunson fought Jared Cannonier in February 2022 and lost by knockout. After this fight, he said his next one would be his last in MMA. His last UFC fight was against Dricus du Plessis in March 2023, which he lost. In September 2023, it was announced that Brunson had left the UFC.
Moving to Professional Fighters League (PFL)
After leaving the UFC, Derek Brunson signed a new deal with the Professional Fighters League (PFL) in October 2023. He joined their light heavyweight division for the 2024 season.
He made his PFL debut in November 2023 against Ray Cooper III. Brunson won the fight by unanimous decision.
Achievements and Awards
Derek Brunson has achieved a lot in his career:
Mixed Martial Arts Honors
- Ultimate Fighting Championship
- Fight of the Night (Two times): For his exciting fights against Yoel Romero and Robert Whittaker.
- Performance of the Night (One time): For his great win against Lyoto Machida.
- Tied for third most wins in UFC Middleweight history (14 wins).
- Tied for third most finishes (knockouts or submissions) in UFC Middleweight history (9 finishes).
- Tied for fifth most fights in UFC Middleweight history (21 fights).
- Tied for fourth most knockouts in UFC Middleweight history (7 knockouts).
- Tied for third most takedowns in UFC Middleweight history (36 takedowns).
- Fourth most control time in UFC Middleweight history (1 hour, 9 minutes, 34 seconds).
- Fifth most top position time in UFC Middleweight history (50 minutes, 33 seconds).
- UFC.com Awards
- 2016: Ranked #10 Fight of the Year for his fight against Robert Whittaker.
- Other Awards
- 2017 Robbery of the Year from Sherdog, MMAJunkie.com, and MMADNA.nl for his fight against Anderson Silva. This means many people felt he should have won that fight.
College Sports Achievements
- NCAA
- NCAA Division II All-American wrestler in 2003 and 2005.
- University of North Carolina at Pembroke
- 2002 UCA Small Co-ed National Champions in Cheerleading.
Other Recognitions
- Young Alumnus of the Year 2014 from UNC Pembroke.
- Inducted into the UNC Pembroke Athletics Hall of Fame in 2016.
Mixed martial arts record
| Professional record breakdown | ||
| 33 matches | 24 wins | 9 losses |
| By knockout | 12 | 7 |
| By submission | 4 | 0 |
| By decision | 8 | 2 |
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 24–9 | Ray Cooper III | Decision (unanimous) | PFL 10 (2023) | November 24, 2023 | 3 | 5:00 | Washington, D.C., United States | Catchweight (186.8 lb) bout; Cooper missed weight. |
| Loss | 23–9 | Dricus du Plessis | TKO (corner stoppage) | UFC 285 | March 4, 2023 | 2 | 4:59 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Loss | 23–8 | Jared Cannonier | KO (elbows) | UFC 271 | February 12, 2022 | 2 | 4:29 | Houston, Texas, United States | UFC Middleweight title eliminator. |
| Win | 23–7 | Darren Till | Submission (rear-naked choke) | UFC Fight Night: Brunson vs. Till | September 4, 2021 | 3 | 2:13 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Win | 22–7 | Kevin Holland | Decision (unanimous) | UFC on ESPN: Brunson vs. Holland | March 20, 2021 | 5 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Win | 21–7 | Edmen Shahbazyan | TKO (punches) | UFC Fight Night: Brunson vs. Shahbazyan | August 1, 2020 | 3 | 0:26 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Win | 20–7 | Ian Heinisch | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 241 | August 17, 2019 | 3 | 5:00 | Anaheim, California, United States | |
| Win | 19–7 | Elias Theodorou | Decision (unanimous) | UFC Fight Night: Iaquinta vs. Cowboy | May 4, 2019 | 3 | 5:00 | Ottawa, Ontario, Canada | |
| Loss | 18–7 | Israel Adesanya | TKO (knees and punches) | UFC 230 | November 3, 2018 | 1 | 4:51 | New York City, New York, United States | |
| Loss | 18–6 | Ronaldo Souza | KO (head kick and punches) | UFC on Fox: Jacaré vs. Brunson 2 | January 27, 2018 | 1 | 3:50 | Charlotte, North Carolina, United States | |
| Win | 18–5 | Lyoto Machida | KO (punches) | UFC Fight Night: Brunson vs. Machida | October 28, 2017 | 1 | 2:30 | São Paulo, Brazil | Performance of the Night. |
| Win | 17–5 | Dan Kelly | KO (punch) | UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. Hunt | June 11, 2017 | 1 | 1:16 | Auckland, New Zealand | |
| Loss | 16–5 | Anderson Silva | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 208 | February 11, 2017 | 3 | 5:00 | Brooklyn, New York, United States | |
| Loss | 16–4 | Robert Whittaker | TKO (head kick and punches) | UFC Fight Night: Whittaker vs. Brunson | November 27, 2016 | 1 | 4:07 | Melbourne, Australia | Fight of the Night. |
| Win | 16–3 | Uriah Hall | TKO (punch) | UFC Fight Night: Poirier vs. Johnson | September 17, 2016 | 1 | 1:41 | Hidalgo, Texas, United States | |
| Win | 15–3 | Roan Carneiro | KO (punches) | UFC Fight Night: Cowboy vs. Cowboy | February 21, 2016 | 1 | 2:38 | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States | |
| Win | 14–3 | Sam Alvey | TKO (punches) | UFC Fight Night: Teixeira vs. Saint Preux | August 8, 2015 | 1 | 2:19 | Nashville, Tennessee, United States | |
| Win | 13–3 | Ed Herman | TKO (punches) | UFC 183 | January 31, 2015 | 1 | 0:36 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Win | 12–3 | Lorenz Larkin | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 177 | August 30, 2014 | 3 | 5:00 | Sacramento, California, United States | |
| Loss | 11–3 | Yoel Romero | TKO (punches and elbows) | UFC Fight Night: Rockhold vs. Philippou | January 15, 2014 | 3 | 3:23 | Duluth, Georgia, United States | Fight of the Night. |
| Win | 11–2 | Brian Houston | Submission (rear-naked choke) | UFC: Fight for the Troops 3 | November 6, 2013 | 1 | 0:48 | Fort Campbell, Kentucky, United States | |
| Win | 10–2 | Chris Leben | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 155 | December 29, 2012 | 3 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Loss | 9–2 | Ronaldo Souza | KO (punches) | Strikeforce: Rousey vs. Kaufman | August 18, 2012 | 1 | 0:41 | San Diego, California, United States | |
| Loss | 9–1 | Kendall Grove | Decision (split) | ShoFight 20 | June 16, 2012 | 3 | 5:00 | Springfield, Missouri, United States | For the ShoFight Middleweight Championship; Brunson missed weight (190 lb) and was ineligible to win the title. |
| Win | 9–0 | Nate James | Decision (unanimous) | Strikeforce Challengers: Britt vs. Sayers | November 18, 2011 | 3 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Win | 8–0 | Lumumba Sayers | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Henderson | July 30, 2011 | 1 | 4:33 | Hoffman Estates, Illinois, United States | |
| Win | 7–0 | Jeremy Hamilton | Decision (unanimous) | Strikeforce Challengers: Fodor vs. Terry | June 24, 2011 | 3 | 5:00 | Kent, Washington, United States | |
| Win | 6–0 | Danny Babcock | KO (punch) | World Extreme Fighting 45 | January 22, 2011 | 1 | 1:07 | Jacksonville, Florida, United States | |
| Win | 5–0 | Rhomez Brower | TKO (submission to punches) | XFP: The Holiday Fight Fest | December 4, 2010 | 1 | 2:27 | Wilmington, North Carolina, United States | |
| Win | 4–0 | Todd Chattelle | TKO (punches) | ICE: Fright Night 2010 | October 29, 2010 | 1 | 0:14 | Providence, Rhode Island, United States | |
| Win | 3–0 | Edward Jackson | KO (punches) | Carolina's Summer Fight Series 3 | July 31, 2010 | 1 | 0:41 | Jacksonville, North Carolina, United States | |
| Win | 2–0 | Chris McNally | KO (punches) | Carolina's Summer Fight Series 2 | June 26, 2010 | 1 | 1:42 | Wilmington, North Carolina, United States | |
| Win | 1–0 | John Bryant | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Carolina's Summer Fight Series 1 | May 22, 2010 | 1 | 0:52 | Wilmington, North Carolina, United States |
See also
In Spanish: Derek Brunson para niños
- List of current PFL fighters
- List of male mixed martial artists
