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UFC middleweight contender Derek Brunson has shed light on his drastic U-turn when it comes to a potential mixed martial arts retirement.
This weekend, Brunson will return to the Octagon for the first time in over a year. At UFC 285, set for Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena on March 4, the 185-pound veteran will look to defend his position on the ladder against the charging Dricus du Plessis.
In Brunson’s mind, this Saturday’s outing will mark the start of an extremely active year, which he hopes will culminate in a long-awaited shot at the middleweight gold. That plan would have seemed unlikely a year ago, though, with the #5-ranked contender previously hinting towards imminent retirement.
Prior to his knockout loss to Jared Cannonier last February, Brunson revealed the timeline for the end of his career, noting his desire to exit the sport with a healthy brain after two more bouts.
“Honestly, I plan on fighting two more times,” Brunson told the media. “I feel like I’m lucky and blessed to like, fight in the UFC 20 times, and I’m super smart and got a good brain in my head, so I don’t wanna fight until I can’t fight no more. I’m in the best shape. I’m feeling good. So that’s all I’m thinking about right now; beat Cannonier, beat Izzy, and riding out. That’s it.”
But in quite the tune-change, Brunson is targeting a four-fight 2023.
Brunson: ‘My Last Loss Wasn’t Performance-Based’
Despite the brutal nature of his defeat to Cannonier at UFC 271, Brunson later walked back retirement talk and even expressed interest in competing as many as four times this year.
During a recent interview with ESPN MMA’s Brett Okamoto ahead of Saturday’s blockbuster PPV event, Brunson sought to explain his surprising transition from retirement planning to potentially the most active year of his UFC career should things go to plan against du Plessis.
“It’s like, I look at my last fight. It wasn’t performance-based,” Brunson said. “It wasn’t like, ‘Oh, I can’t do this anymore.’ It was like, ‘Why did you get so tired so fast?’ So it was more going back to the drawing table, figuring those things out, changing up things in the diet, adding more running to the routine. Whereas, you know, if the doctor said, ‘Your knees aren’t the best, maybe you shouldn’t run.’ I’m like, ‘Hey, I probably need to run.’
“So, it’s just re-evaluating those things and being like, ‘I’m killing these guys and I do something stupid, and tank, and lose the fight.’ There hasn’t been a lot of those, but that’s an easy re-evaluation,” Brunson added.
Prior to running into “The Killa Gorilla,” Brunson had revived his career, going unbeaten as “Blonde Brunson.” Unfortunately for the 39-year-old, he fell one win short of booking a date in the cage with now-former champ Israel Adesanya.
But despite approaching the age of 40, Brunson appears more than motivated to make another run. And if he can return to the kind of form that saw him dominate Edmen Shahbazyan, Kevin Holland, and Darren Till in three consecutive headliners, he may just force his way back to title contention.
Image: Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC
Do you think Derek Brunson can make another run towards the UFC middleweight title?
Please provide transcription credit with a link to this article if you use any of these quotes.
UFC middleweight contender Derek Brunson has shed light on his drastic U-turn when it comes to a potential mixed martial arts retirement.
This weekend, Brunson will return to the Octagon for the first time in over a year. At UFC 285, set for Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena on March 4, the 185-pound veteran will look to defend his position on the ladder against the charging Dricus du Plessis.
In Brunson’s mind, this Saturday’s outing will mark the start of an extremely active year, which he hopes will culminate in a long-awaited shot at the middleweight gold. That plan would have seemed unlikely a year ago, though, with the #5-ranked contender previously hinting towards imminent retirement.
Prior to his knockout loss to Jared Cannonier last February, Brunson revealed the timeline for the end of his career, noting his desire to exit the sport with a healthy brain after two more bouts.
“Honestly, I plan on fighting two more times,” Brunson told the media. “I feel like I’m lucky and blessed to like, fight in the UFC 20 times, and I’m super smart and got a good brain in my head, so I don’t wanna fight until I can’t fight no more. I’m in the best shape. I’m feeling good. So that’s all I’m thinking about right now; beat Cannonier, beat Izzy, and riding out. That’s it.”
But in quite the tune-change, Brunson is targeting a four-fight 2023.
Brunson: ‘My Last Loss Wasn’t Performance-Based’
Despite the brutal nature of his defeat to Cannonier at UFC 271, Brunson later walked back retirement talk and even expressed interest in competing as many as four times this year.
During a recent interview with ESPN MMA’s Brett Okamoto ahead of Saturday’s blockbuster PPV event, Brunson sought to explain his surprising transition from retirement planning to potentially the most active year of his UFC career should things go to plan against du Plessis.
“It’s like, I look at my last fight. It wasn’t performance-based,” Brunson said. “It wasn’t like, ‘Oh, I can’t do this anymore.’ It was like, ‘Why did you get so tired so fast?’ So it was more going back to the drawing table, figuring those things out, changing up things in the diet, adding more running to the routine. Whereas, you know, if the doctor said, ‘Your knees aren’t the best, maybe you shouldn’t run.’ I’m like, ‘Hey, I probably need to run.’
“So, it’s just re-evaluating those things and being like, ‘I’m killing these guys and I do something stupid, and tank, and lose the fight.’ There hasn’t been a lot of those, but that’s an easy re-evaluation,” Brunson added.
Prior to running into “The Killa Gorilla,” Brunson had revived his career, going unbeaten as “Blonde Brunson.” Unfortunately for the 39-year-old, he fell one win short of booking a date in the cage with now-former champ Israel Adesanya.
But despite approaching the age of 40, Brunson appears more than motivated to make another run. And if he can return to the kind of form that saw him dominate Edmen Shahbazyan, Kevin Holland, and Darren Till in three consecutive headliners, he may just force his way back to title contention.
Image: Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC
Do you think Derek Brunson can make another run towards the UFC middleweight title?
Please provide transcription credit with a link to this article if you use any of these quotes.
Click here to view the article.
This weekend, Brunson will return to the Octagon for the first time in over a year. At UFC 285, set for Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena on March 4, the 185-pound veteran will look to defend his position on the ladder against the charging Dricus du Plessis.
In Brunson’s mind, this Saturday’s outing will mark the start of an extremely active year, which he hopes will culminate in a long-awaited shot at the middleweight gold. That plan would have seemed unlikely a year ago, though, with the #5-ranked contender previously hinting towards imminent retirement.
Prior to his knockout loss to Jared Cannonier last February, Brunson revealed the timeline for the end of his career, noting his desire to exit the sport with a healthy brain after two more bouts.
“Honestly, I plan on fighting two more times,” Brunson told the media. “I feel like I’m lucky and blessed to like, fight in the UFC 20 times, and I’m super smart and got a good brain in my head, so I don’t wanna fight until I can’t fight no more. I’m in the best shape. I’m feeling good. So that’s all I’m thinking about right now; beat Cannonier, beat Izzy, and riding out. That’s it.”
But in quite the tune-change, Brunson is targeting a four-fight 2023.
Brunson: ‘My Last Loss Wasn’t Performance-Based’
Despite the brutal nature of his defeat to Cannonier at UFC 271, Brunson later walked back retirement talk and even expressed interest in competing as many as four times this year.
During a recent interview with ESPN MMA’s Brett Okamoto ahead of Saturday’s blockbuster PPV event, Brunson sought to explain his surprising transition from retirement planning to potentially the most active year of his UFC career should things go to plan against du Plessis.
“It’s like, I look at my last fight. It wasn’t performance-based,” Brunson said. “It wasn’t like, ‘Oh, I can’t do this anymore.’ It was like, ‘Why did you get so tired so fast?’ So it was more going back to the drawing table, figuring those things out, changing up things in the diet, adding more running to the routine. Whereas, you know, if the doctor said, ‘Your knees aren’t the best, maybe you shouldn’t run.’ I’m like, ‘Hey, I probably need to run.’
“So, it’s just re-evaluating those things and being like, ‘I’m killing these guys and I do something stupid, and tank, and lose the fight.’ There hasn’t been a lot of those, but that’s an easy re-evaluation,” Brunson added.
Prior to running into “The Killa Gorilla,” Brunson had revived his career, going unbeaten as “Blonde Brunson.” Unfortunately for the 39-year-old, he fell one win short of booking a date in the cage with now-former champ Israel Adesanya.
But despite approaching the age of 40, Brunson appears more than motivated to make another run. And if he can return to the kind of form that saw him dominate Edmen Shahbazyan, Kevin Holland, and Darren Till in three consecutive headliners, he may just force his way back to title contention.
Image: Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC
Do you think Derek Brunson can make another run towards the UFC middleweight title?
Please provide transcription credit with a link to this article if you use any of these quotes.
UFC middleweight contender Derek Brunson has shed light on his drastic U-turn when it comes to a potential mixed martial arts retirement.
This weekend, Brunson will return to the Octagon for the first time in over a year. At UFC 285, set for Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena on March 4, the 185-pound veteran will look to defend his position on the ladder against the charging Dricus du Plessis.
In Brunson’s mind, this Saturday’s outing will mark the start of an extremely active year, which he hopes will culminate in a long-awaited shot at the middleweight gold. That plan would have seemed unlikely a year ago, though, with the #5-ranked contender previously hinting towards imminent retirement.
Prior to his knockout loss to Jared Cannonier last February, Brunson revealed the timeline for the end of his career, noting his desire to exit the sport with a healthy brain after two more bouts.
“Honestly, I plan on fighting two more times,” Brunson told the media. “I feel like I’m lucky and blessed to like, fight in the UFC 20 times, and I’m super smart and got a good brain in my head, so I don’t wanna fight until I can’t fight no more. I’m in the best shape. I’m feeling good. So that’s all I’m thinking about right now; beat Cannonier, beat Izzy, and riding out. That’s it.”
But in quite the tune-change, Brunson is targeting a four-fight 2023.
Brunson: ‘My Last Loss Wasn’t Performance-Based’
Despite the brutal nature of his defeat to Cannonier at UFC 271, Brunson later walked back retirement talk and even expressed interest in competing as many as four times this year.
During a recent interview with ESPN MMA’s Brett Okamoto ahead of Saturday’s blockbuster PPV event, Brunson sought to explain his surprising transition from retirement planning to potentially the most active year of his UFC career should things go to plan against du Plessis.
“It’s like, I look at my last fight. It wasn’t performance-based,” Brunson said. “It wasn’t like, ‘Oh, I can’t do this anymore.’ It was like, ‘Why did you get so tired so fast?’ So it was more going back to the drawing table, figuring those things out, changing up things in the diet, adding more running to the routine. Whereas, you know, if the doctor said, ‘Your knees aren’t the best, maybe you shouldn’t run.’ I’m like, ‘Hey, I probably need to run.’
“So, it’s just re-evaluating those things and being like, ‘I’m killing these guys and I do something stupid, and tank, and lose the fight.’ There hasn’t been a lot of those, but that’s an easy re-evaluation,” Brunson added.
Prior to running into “The Killa Gorilla,” Brunson had revived his career, going unbeaten as “Blonde Brunson.” Unfortunately for the 39-year-old, he fell one win short of booking a date in the cage with now-former champ Israel Adesanya.
But despite approaching the age of 40, Brunson appears more than motivated to make another run. And if he can return to the kind of form that saw him dominate Edmen Shahbazyan, Kevin Holland, and Darren Till in three consecutive headliners, he may just force his way back to title contention.
Do you think Derek Brunson can make another run towards the UFC middleweight title?
Please provide transcription credit with a link to this article if you use any of these quotes.
Click here to view the article.
