Derek Brunson

Derek Brunson (born January 4, 1984) is an American professional mixed martial artist who competes in the Light heavyweight division of the Professional Fighters League (PFL). He is most notable for his 21 fight tenure in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) between 2012 and 2023, where he competed in the Middleweight division.

Background
Brunson was a competitive cheerleader and wrestler at John T. Hoggard High School in Wilmington, North Carolina, under coach Dan Willis. Brunson had scholarships for both cheerleading and wrestling, but chose to wrestle in college.

He was a three-time NCAA Division II All-American wrestler for the University of North Carolina at Pembroke. In college, Brunson majored in criminal justice and minored in sociology. Prior to when he finished college, he immediately turned his attention to mixed martial arts. Brunson was inspired by his high school classmate Shelly Johnson to pursue a career in fighting. Prior to his mixed martial arts career, Brunson was a therapist.

Mixed martial arts career
Brunson made his professional MMA debut in May 2010 against John Bryant where he won by a rear-naked choke in under a minute. He then won his next five fights with none of them making it past 2:30 of the first round.

Strikeforce
Brunson made his Strikeforce debut on June 24, 2011, at Strikeforce Challengers: Fedor vs. Terry against undefeated Jeremy Hamilton. He won the fight via unanimous decision.

In a quick turnaround, Brunson fought his second fight for Strikeforce just over one month after his debut. He faced Lumumba Sayers on the undercard of Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Henderson on July 30, 2011. He won the fight via submission in the first round.

Brunson's next fight was on November 18, 2011, at Strikeforce Challengers: Britt vs. Sayers against Nate James. He won the fight via unanimous decision.

He was scheduled to face Ronaldo Souza on March 3, 2012, at Strikeforce: Tate vs. Rousey. However, the Ohio State Athletic Commission denied his fight license based on an eye exam he had submitted. Brunson fought wearing contacts in all of his bouts, but Ohio has a rule against this. He immediately scheduled a Lasik procedure and missed about six weeks. He later faced Souza on August 18, 2012, at Strikeforce: Rousey vs. Kaufman and was defeated by KO at :41 of the 1st round.

The Ultimate Fighter
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.

Ultimate Fighting Championship
Brunson made his UFC debut replacing an injured Karlos Vemola against Chris Leben on December 29, 2012, at UFC 155. Despite being a late replacement and heavy underdog, Brunson utilized his superior wrestling to defeat Leben via unanimous decision.

He was expected to face Ronny Markes on June 8, 2013, at UFC on Fuel TV 10. However, the bout was scrapped on the day of the weigh in as Markes was involved in a traffic accident. While Markes was not seriously injured, the incident prevented him from competing.

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

He was expected to face Antonio Braga Neto on November 6, 2013, at UFC Fight Night 31. However, Neto pulled out of the bout citing an injury and was replaced by Brian Houston. Brunson won the fight in impressive fashion early, connecting with a head kick on Houston and then securing a rear-naked choke submission.

The bout with Romero was rescheduled for January 15, 2014, at UFC Fight Night 35. After winning the first two rounds, Brunson was dropped by a left hook and lost the fight via TKO due to elbows on the ground in the third round. Both fighters earned a $50,000 Fight of the Night bonus award.

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

Brunson was expected to face Lorenz Larkin on August 2, 2014, at UFC 176. After UFC 176 was cancelled, Larkin/Brunson was rescheduled and eventually took place on August 30, 2014, at UFC 177. Brunson won the fight via unanimous decision.

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 Brunson was stricken with a stomach ailment. Subsequently, the bout with Herman was rescheduled and took place on January 31, 2015, at UFC 183. Brunson won the fight via TKO in the first round.

Brunson was expected to face Krzysztof Jotko on June 20, 2015, at UFC Fight Night 69. However, Brunson pulled out of the fight on June 9 citing a rib injury and was briefly replaced by Uriah Hall. Three days after the booking, Hall was removed due to an alleged visa issue. In turn, Jotko was removed from the card entirely.

Brunson faced Sam Alvey on August 8, 2015, at UFC Fight Night 73. He won the fight via TKO in the first round.

Brunson next faced Roan Carneiro on February 21, 2016, at UFC Fight Night 83. He won the fight via TKO, earning his third consecutive TKO stoppage in the first round.

He was scheduled to face Gegard Mousasi on July 9, 2016, at UFC 200. However, he later was forced to pull out of the bout.

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

Brunson faced Robert Whittaker on November 27, 2016, at UFC Fight Night 101. He lost the back and forth fight via first-round TKO. Both participants were awarded a Fight of the Night bonus.

Brunson faced Anderson Silva on February 11, 2017, at UFC 208. He lost the fight via unanimous decision.

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

Brunson faced Lyoto Machida on October 28, 2017, at UFC Fight Night 119. He won the fight via knockout in the first round. This win also earned him a Performance of the Night bonus award.

A rematch with Ronaldo Souza took place on January 27, 2018, in the main event at UFC on Fox 27. Brunson lost the fight via TKO in the first round.

He was expected to face Antônio Carlos Júnior on August 4, 2018, at UFC 227. However, Brunson pulled out of the fight in early July citing an eye injury.

Brunson faced Israel Adesanya on November 3, 2018, at UFC 230. He lost the fight via technical knockout in round one.

Brunson faced Elias Theodorou on May 4, 2019, at UFC Fight Night 151. He won the fight by unanimous decision.

He faced Ian Heinisch on August 17, 2019, at UFC 241. He won the fight by unanimous decision.

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

Brunson was expected to face Edmen Shahbazyan on March 7, 2020, at UFC 248. However it was announced on February 20 that the bout had been rescheduled and would take place on April 11, 2020, at UFC Fight Night: Overeem vs. Harris. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the event was eventually postponed. The bout eventually was scheduled on August 1, 2020, at UFC Fight Night: Brunson vs. Shahbazyan. He won the fight via technical knockout in round three.

Brunson faced Kevin Holland on March 20, 2021, at UFC on ESPN 21. He won the fight via unanimous decision.

Brunson faced Darren Till on September 4, 2021, at UFC Fight Night: Brunson vs. Till. He won the fight via rear-naked choke submission in round three.

Brunson was scheduled to face Jared Cannonier on January 22, 2022, at UFC 270. However, for undisclosed reasons the bout was moved to UFC 271 on February 12, 2022. He lost the fight via knockout in round two. Brunson stated that his next fight will be his final fight in mixed martial arts.

Brunson was scheduled to face Jack Hermansson on December 3, 2022, at UFC on ESPN 42. However, Brunson withdrew due to an undisclosed injury and was replaced by Roman Dolidze.

Brunson faced Dricus du Plessis on March 4, 2023, at UFC 285. He lost the fight via technical knockout due to a corner stoppage at 4:59 of the second round.

Brunson was scheduled to face Roman Dolidze at UFC 295 on November 11, 2023. On September 14, 2023, the fight was scrapped, as it was announced Brunson had parted ways with the UFC.

Professional Fighters League
After parting ways with the UFC on October 5, 2023, it was announced that Brunson had signed a multi-fight deal with the Professional Fighters League, and that he would be a participant in their 2024 season as a light heavyweight.

Brunson made his PFL debut against Ray Cooper III on November 24, 2023 at PFL 10. At weigh-ins, Cooper came in at 186.8 pounds, .8 pounds over the limit, leading him to being fined a percentage of his purse which went to Brunson and the bout was held at a catchweight. Brunson won the fight by unanimous decision.

Personal life
Brunson has four children; he has never smoked a cigarette or drank alcohol in his life.

Mixed martial arts

 * Ultimate Fighting Championship
 * Fight of the Night (Two times) vs. Yoel Romero and Robert Whittaker
 * Performance of the Night (One time)vs. Lyoto Machida
 * Tied (Anderson Silva & Robert Whittaker) for third most wins in UFC Middleweight division history (14)
 * Tied (Nate Marquardt and Chris Leben) for third most finishes in UFC Middleweight division history (9)
 * Tied (Anderson Silva & Thales Leites) for fifth most bouts in UFC Middleweight division history (21)
 * Tied (Michael Bisping, Yoel Romero & Chris Leben) for fourth most knockouts in UFC Middleweight division history (7)
 * Tied (Rafael Natal) for third most takedowns in UFC Middleweight division history (36)
 * Fourth most control time in UFC Middleweight division history (1:09:34)
 * Fifth most top position time in UFC Middleweight division history (50:33)
 * Sherdog
 * 2017 Robbery of the Year vs. Anderson Silva
 * MMAJunkie.com
 * 2017 Robbery of the Year vs. Anderson Silva
 * MMADNA.nl
 * 2017 Robbery of the Year vs. Anderson Silva

Collegiate sports

 * National Collegiate Athletic Association
 * NCAA Division II All-American out of University of North Carolina at Pembroke (2003, 2005)
 * University of North Carolina at Pembroke
 * 2002 UCA Small Co-ed National Champs - Cheerleading

Other accomplishments

 * Young Alumnus of the Year 2014 (UNC Pembroke)
 * UNC Pembroke Athletics Hall of Fame, Inducted 2016

NCAA record
! colspan="8"| NCAA Division II Championships Matches ! Res. !  Record ! Opponent ! Score ! Date ! Event ! style=background:white colspan=6 |2007 NCAA (DII) Championships 7th at 197 lbs ! style=background:white colspan=6 |2005 NCAA (DII) Championships 8th at 184 lbs ! style=background:white colspan=6 |2004 NCAA (DII) Championships DNP at 184 lbs ! style=background:white colspan=6 |2003 NCAA (DII) Championships 4th at 184 lbs
 * Win
 * 9-9
 * align=left|Kelsey Empting
 * style="font-size:88%"|8-2
 * style="font-size:88%" rowspan=5|March 9–10, 2007
 * style="font-size:88%" rowspan=5|2007 NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships
 * Loss
 * 8-9
 * align=left|Heath Jolley
 * style="font-size:88%"|Fall
 * Win
 * 8-8
 * align=left|Chris Taylor
 * style="font-size:88%"|6-2
 * Win
 * 7-8
 * align=left|Jacob Marrs
 * style="font-size:88%"|12-7
 * Loss
 * 6-8
 * align=left|Josh Majerus
 * style="font-size:88%"|Fall
 * Loss
 * 6-8
 * align=left|Josh Majerus
 * style="font-size:88%"|Fall
 * style="font-size:88%"|Fall
 * Loss
 * 6-7
 * align=left| Don Ortega
 * style="font-size:88%"|3-5
 * style="font-size:88%" rowspan=5|March 11–12, 2005
 * style="font-size:88%" rowspan=5|2005 NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships
 * Loss
 * 6-6
 * align=left|Kristopher Klepacz
 * style="font-size:88%"|Fall
 * Win
 * 6-5
 * align=left|Dillon Blackman
 * style="font-size:88%"|Fall
 * Loss
 * 5-5
 * align=left|Clint Carmony
 * style="font-size:88%"|5-8
 * Win
 * 5-4
 * align=left|Todd Naasz
 * style="font-size:88%"|12-5
 * Win
 * 5-4
 * align=left|Todd Naasz
 * style="font-size:88%"|12-5
 * style="font-size:88%"|12-5
 * Loss
 * 4-4
 * align=left|Corey Jacoby
 * style="font-size:88%"|TB-1 1-2
 * style="font-size:88%" rowspan=3|March 12–13, 2004
 * style="font-size:88%" rowspan=3|2004 NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships
 * Win
 * 4-3
 * align=left|Matt Trout
 * style="font-size:88%"|MD 16-6
 * Loss
 * 3-3
 * align=left|Greg Nurrenbern
 * style="font-size:88%"|4-10
 * 3-3
 * align=left|Greg Nurrenbern
 * style="font-size:88%"|4-10
 * Loss
 * 3-2
 * align=left|Jeff Henning
 * style="font-size:88%"|TF 2-18
 * style="font-size:88%" rowspan=5|March 14–15, 2003
 * style="font-size:88%" rowspan=5|2003 NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships
 * Win
 * 3-1
 * align=left|Ben McAvinew
 * style="font-size:88%"|10-5
 * Loss
 * 2-1
 * align=left|Mauricio Wright
 * style="font-size:88%"|5-11
 * Win
 * 2-0
 * align=left|Sam Kenton
 * style="font-size:88%"|5-3
 * Win
 * 1-0
 * align=left|Ben Holscher
 * style="font-size:88%"|11-5
 * Win
 * 1-0
 * align=left|Ben Holscher
 * style="font-size:88%"|11-5
 * style="font-size:88%"|11-5