57 Facts About Derek Brunson

Derek Brunson was born on January 4,1984 and is an American professional mixed martial artist.

Derek Brunson currently competes in the Middleweight division for the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Derek Brunson was a three-time NCAA Division II All-American wrestler for the University of North Carolina at Pembroke.

Derek Brunson was inspired by his high school classmates Shelly Johnson to pursue a career in fighting.

Derek Brunson made his professional MMA debut in May 2010 against John Bryant where he won by a rear-naked choke in under a minute.

Derek Brunson then won his next five fights with none of them making it past 2:30 of the first round.

Derek Brunson made his Strikeforce debut on June 24,2011, at Strikeforce Challengers: Fedor vs Terry against undefeated Jeremy Hamilton.

Derek Brunson faced Lumumba Sayers on the undercard of Strikeforce: Fedor vs Henderson on July 30,2011.

Derek Brunson won the fight via submission in the first round.

Derek Brunson's next fight was on November 18,2011, at Strikeforce Challengers: Britt vs Sayers against Nate James.

Derek Brunson was scheduled to face Ronaldo Souza on March 3,2012, at Strikeforce: Tate vs Rousey.

Derek Brunson fought wearing contacts in all of his bouts, but Ohio has a rule against this.

Derek Brunson immediately scheduled a Lasik procedure and missed about six weeks.

Derek Brunson later faced Souza on August 18,2012, at Strikeforce: Rousey vs Kaufman and was defeated by KO at :41 of the 1st round.

Derek Brunson was accepted to compete in The Ultimate Fighter 17, but on the first day of filming he was pulled from the competition due to Showtime having yet to release him from his contract.

Derek Brunson made his UFC debut replacing an injured Karlos Vemola against Chris Leben on December 29,2012, at UFC 155.

Derek Brunson was expected to face Ronny Markes on June 8,2013, at UFC on Fuel TV 10.

Derek Brunson was expected to face Yoel Romero on August 31,2013, at UFC 164 but was eventually forced off the card with an injury.

Derek Brunson was expected to face Antonio Braga Neto on November 6,2013, at UFC Fight Night 31.

Derek Brunson won the fight in impressive fashion early, connecting with a head kick on Houston and then securing a rear-naked choke submission.

On February 15,2014, it was announced that Derek Brunson had signed a four-fight contract with UFC.

Derek Brunson was expected to face Lorenz Larkin on August 2,2014, at UFC 176.

Derek Brunson was expected to face Ed Herman on December 13,2014, at UFC on Fox 13.

However, the bout was scrapped just hours before the fight, as Derek Brunson was stricken with a stomach ailment.

Derek Brunson was expected to face Krzysztof Jotko on June 20,2015, at UFC Fight Night 69.

Derek Brunson faced Sam Alvey on August 8,2015, at UFC Fight Night 73.

Derek Brunson won the fight via TKO in the first round.

Derek Brunson next faced Roan Carneiro on February 21,2016, at UFC Fight Night 83.

Derek Brunson won the fight via TKO, earning his third consecutive TKO stoppage in the first round.

Derek Brunson was scheduled to face Gegard Mousasi on July 9,2016, at UFC 200.

Derek Brunson faced Uriah Hall on September 17,2016, at UFC Fight Night 94.

Derek Brunson won the fight via TKO in the first round after dropping Hall with a left hook and finishing him with a flurry of ground and pound.

Derek Brunson faced Robert Whittaker on November 27,2016, at UFC Fight Night 101.

Derek Brunson lost the back and forth fight via first-round TKO.

Derek Brunson faced Anderson Silva on February 11,2017, at UFC 208.

Derek Brunson fought Dan Kelly on June 11,2017, at UFC Fight Night 110.

Derek Brunson won by knockout in the first round after dropping Kelly with a straight left and finishing him off with a barrage of ground and pound.

Derek Brunson faced Lyoto Machida on October 28,2017, at UFC Fight Night 119.

Derek Brunson won the fight via knockout in the first round.

Derek Brunson was expected to face Antonio Carlos Junior on August 4,2018, at UFC 227.

Derek Brunson faced Israel Adesanya on November 3,2018, at UFC 230.

Derek Brunson lost the fight via technical knockout in round one.

Derek Brunson faced Elias Theodorou on May 4,2019, at UFC Fight Night 151.

Derek Brunson faced Ian Heinisch on August 17,2019, at UFC 241.

In December 2019, Derek Brunson announced on his social media that he had signed a new, six-fight contract with the UFC.

Derek Brunson was expected to face Edmen Shahbazyan on March 7,2020, at UFC 248.

Derek Brunson won the fight via technical knockout in round three.

Derek Brunson faced Kevin Holland on March 20,2021, at UFC on ESPN 21.

Derek Brunson faced Darren Till on September 4,2021, at UFC Fight Night: Derek Brunson vs Till.

Derek Brunson won the fight via rear-naked choke submission in round three.

Derek Brunson was scheduled to face Jared Cannonier on January 22,2022, at UFC 270.

Derek Brunson lost the fight via knockout in round two.

Derek Brunson stated that his next fight will be his final fight in mixed martial arts.

Derek Brunson was scheduled to face Jack Hermansson on December 3,2022, at UFC on ESPN 42.

However, Derek Brunson withdrew due to an undisclosed injury and was replaced by Roman Dolidze.

Derek Brunson faced Dricus du Plessis on March 4,2023, at UFC 285.

Derek Brunson lost the fight via technical knockout due to a corner stoppage at 4:59 of the second round.