Tag: Derek Brunson

GFL draft results: Former UFC champions surprise with unexpected entries

Check out the GFL Draft results and see which of the hottest free agents and MMA legends were selected to compete in the inaugural year.

It’s not every day there’s an MMA draft, but Friday there was

The 2025 GFL Draft took place virtually with a live stream on MMA Junkie. Six teams, each representing a major city, drafted from a pool of approximately 500 fighters, including big-name free agents and rising prospects.

One-hundred-twenty athletes were be selected across 10 weight classes (heavyweight, light heavyweight, middleweight, welterweight, lightweight, featherweight, bantamweight, women’s bantamweight, women’s strawweight, and women’s atomweight). However, the weight classes are divided slightly differently than the traditional weight classes. The promotion says it’s an effort to combat weight cutting.

Click here to see which fighters are eligible for the draft.

The six teams are managed and coached by MMA notables, as follows: Dubai (manager Cain Velasquez and coach Javier Mendez); London (manager Luke Barnatt and coach Carl Prince); Los Angeles (manager Wanderlei Silva and coach Rafael Cordeiro); Miami (manager Thiago Alves and coach Conan Silveira); New York (manager TBA and coach Ray Longo); and Sao Paulo (manager Lyoto Machida and coach Andre Pederneiras.

While a specific date has yet to be revealed, the promotion says it will launch in April with regular season, semi-finals, and finals events held throughout the year.

The 2025 GFL Draft results are as follows:

Round 1

  • Pick 1 (Team Dubai): Tyron Woodley
  • Pick 2 (Team Los Angeles): Sage Northcutt
  • Pick 3 (Team London): Gegard Mousasi
  • Pick 4 (Miami): Junior Dos Santos
  • Pick 5 (Sao Paulo): Fabricio Werdum
  • Pick 6 (New York): Kevin Lee

Round 2

  • Pick 7 (New York): Chris Weidman
  • Pick 8 (Sao Paulo): Douglas Lima
  • Pick 9 (Miami): Anthony Pettis
  • Pick 10 (London): Alexander Gustafsson
  • Pick 11 (Los Angeles): Aspen Ladd
  • Pick 12 (Dubai): Abubakar Nurmagomedov

Round 3

  • Pick 13 (Dubai): Derek Brunson
  • Pick 14 (Los Angeles): Tony Ferguson
  • Pick 15 (London): Josefine Knutsson
  • Pick 16 (Miami): Yoel Romero
  • Pick 17 (Sao Paulo): Carlos Petruzzella
  • Pick 18 (New York): Holly Holm

Round 4

  • Pick 19 (New York): Melissa Amay
  • Pick 20 (Sao Paulo): Camilia Reynoso
  • Pick 21 (Miami): Natasha Kuizutina
  • Pick 22 (London): Brett Johns
  • Pick 23 (Los Angeles): Urijah Faber
  • Pick 24 (Dubai): Ali Isaev

Full team reveal (following Round 5):

Team Dubai

  • [autotag]Anastasia Nikolakakos[/autotag] (atomweight)
  • [autotag]Jessica Aguilar[/autotag] (atomweight)
  • [autotag]Faine Mesquita[/autotag] (strawweight)
  • [autotag]Randi Field[/autotag] (strawweight)
  • [autotag]Alexa Conners[/autotag] (bantamweight)
  • [autotag]Arlene Blencowe[/autotag] (bantamweight)
  • [autotag]Farbod Iran Nezhad[/autotag] (bantamweight)
  • [autotag]Timur Valiev[/autotag] (bantamweight)
  • [autotag]Adilet Nurmatov[/autotag] (featherweight)
  • [autotag]Khumoyun Tukhtamurodov[/autotag] (featherweight)
  • [autotag]Damir Ismagulov[/autotag] (lightweight)
  • [autotag]Tofiq Musayev[/autotag] (lightweight)
  • [autotag]Abubakar Nurmagomedov[/autotag] (welterweight)
  • [autotag]Tyron Woodley[/autotag] (welterweight)
  • [autotag]Derek Brunson[/autotag] (middleweight)
  • [autotag]Luke Rockhold[/autotag] (middleweight)
  • [autotag]Omari Akhmedov[/autotag] (light heavyweight)
  • [autotag]Ronny Markes[/autotag] (light heavyweight)
  • [autotag]Ali Isaev[/autotag] (heavyweight)
  • [autotag]Todd Duffee[/autotag] (heavyweight)

Team Los Angeles

  • [autotag]Cory McKenna[/autotag] (atomweight)
  • [autotag]Jessica Penne[/autotag] (atomweight)
  • [autotag]Ilima-Lei Macfarlane[/autotag] (strawweight)
  • [autotag]Cynthia Calvillo[/autotag] (strawweight)
  • [autotag]Aspen Ladd[/autotag] (bantamweight)
  • [autotag]Leslie Smith[/autotag] (bantamweight)
  • [autotag]Ray Borg[/autotag] (bantamweight)
  • [autotag]Urijah Faber[/autotag] (bantamweight)
  • [autotag]Chad Mendes[/autotag] (featherweight)
  • [autotag]Tyler Diamond[/autotag] (featherweight)
  • [autotag]Sage Northcutt[/autotag] (lightweight)
  • [autotag]Tony Ferguson[/autotag] (lightweight)
  • [autotag]Lorenz Larkin[/autotag] (welterweight)
  • [autotag]Louis Glismann[/autotag] (welterweight)
  • [autotag]Grant Neal[/autotag] (middleweight)
  • [autotag]Uriah Hall[/autotag] (middleweight)
  • [autotag]Da Woon Jung[/autotag] (light heavyweight)
  • [autotag]Rashad Evans[/autotag] (light heavyweight)
  • [autotag]Frank Mir[/autotag] (heavyweight)
  • [autotag]Andrei Arlovski[/autotag] (heavyweight)

Team London

  • [autotag]Chiara Penco[/autotag] (atomweight)
  • [autotag]Kelly Staddon[/autotag] (atomweight)
  • [autotag]Josefine Knutsson[/autotag] (strawweight)
  • [autotag]Karolina Owczarz[/autotag] (strawweight)
  • [autotag]Julia Budd[/autotag] (bantamweight)
  • [autotag]Pannie Kianzad[/autotag] (bantamweight)
  • [autotag]Cameron Else[/autotag] (bantamweight)
  • [autotag]Josh Hill[/autotag] (bantamweight)
  • [autotag]Brett Johns[/autotag] (featherweight)
  • [autotag]Mike Grundy[/autotag] (featherweight)
  • [autotag]Benson Henderson[/autotag] (lightweight)
  • [autotag]Tim Wilde[/autotag] (lightweight)
  • [autotag]Danny Roberts[/autotag] (welterweight)
  • [autotag]Norman Parke[/autotag] (welterweight)
  • [autotag]Gegard Mousasi[/autotag] (middleweight)
  • [autotag]Mariusz Ksiazkiewicz[/autotag] (middleweight)
  • [autotag]Alexander Gustafsson[/autotag] (light heavyweight)
  • [autotag]Ilir Latifi[/autotag] (light heavyweight)
  • [autotag]Stuart Austin[/autotag] (heavyweight)
  • [autotag]Tanner Boser[/autotag] (heavyweight)

Team Miami

  • [autotag]Kayla Hracho[/autotag] (atomweight)
  • [autotag]Natasha Kuziutina[/autotag] (atomweight)
  • [autotag]Hannah Goldy[/autotag] (strawweight)
  • [autotag]Paige VanZant[/autotag] (strawweight)
  • [autotag]Cat Zingano[/autotag] (bantamweight)
  • [autotag]Mariya Agapova[/autotag] (bantamweight)
  • [autotag]Eric Shelton[/autotag] (bantamweight)
  • [autotag]Marlon Moraes[/autotag] (bantamweight)
  • [autotag]Andre Harrison[/autotag] (featherweight)
  • [autotag]Charles Rosa[/autotag] (featherweight)
  • [autotag]Anthony Pettis[/autotag] (lightweight)
  • [autotag]Jeremy Stephens[/autotag] (lightweight)
  • [autotag]Dilano Taylor[/autotag] (welterweight)
  • [autotag]Gleison Tibau[/autotag] (welterweight)
  • [autotag]Hector Lombard[/autotag] (middleweight)
  • [autotag]Yoel Romero[/autotag] (middleweight)
  • [autotag]Philipe Lins[/autotag] (light heavyweight)
  • [autotag]Thiago Santos[/autotag] (light heavyweight)
  • [autotag]Robelis Despaigne[/autotag] (heavyweight)
  • [autotag]Junior Dos Santos[/autotag] (heavyweight)

Team Sao Paulo

  • [autotag]Joice Mara[/autotag] (atomweight)
  • [autotag]Pamela Mara[/autotag] (atomweight)
  • [autotag]Camila Reynoso[/autotag] (strawweight)
  • [autotag]Viviane Araujo[/autotag] (strawweight)
  • [autotag]Alejandra Lara[/autotag] (bantamweight)
  • [autotag]Paula Bittencourt[/autotag] (bantamweight)
  • [autotag]Raphael Assuncao[/autotag] (bantamweight)
  • [autotag]Renan Barao[/autotag] (bantamweight)
  • [autotag]Julio Arce[/autotag] (featherweight)
  • [autotag]Maike Linhares[/autotag] (featherweight)
  • [autotag]Patricky Freire[/autotag] (lightweight)
  • [autotag]Lucas Martins[/autotag] (lightweight)
  • [autotag]Alex Oliveira[/autotag] (welterweight)
  • [autotag]Carlos Petruzzella[/autotag] (welterweight)
  • [autotag]Alan Patrick[/autotag] (middleweight)
  • [autotag]Douglas Lima[/autotag] (middleweight)
  • [autotag]Antonio Carlos Junior[/autotag] (light heavyweight)
  • [autotag]Mauricio Rua[/autotag] (light heavyweight)
  • [autotag]Bruno Cappelozza[/autotag] (heavyweight)
  • [autotag]Fabricio Werdum[/autotag] (heavyweight)

Team New York

  • [autotag]Bi Nguyen[/autotag] (atomweight)
  • [autotag]Marisa Messer-Belenchia[/autotag] (atomweight)
  • [autotag]Melissa Amaya[/autotag] (strawweight)
  • [autotag]Miao Ding[/autotag] (strawweight)
  • [autotag]Holly Holm[/autotag] (bantamweight)
  • [autotag]Liana Jojua[/autotag] (bantamweight)
  • [autotag]Jimmie Rivera[/autotag] (bantamweight)
  • [autotag]Zviad Lazishvili[/autotag] (bantamweight)
  • [autotag]Lance Palmer[/autotag] (featherweight)
  • [autotag]Kai Kamaka III[/autotag] (featherweight)
  • [autotag]Sidney Outlaw[/autotag] (lightweight)
  • [autotag]Kevin Lee[/autotag] (lightweight)
  • [autotag]Neiman Gracie[/autotag] (welterweight)
  • [autotag]Dillon Danis[/autotag] (welterweight)
  • [autotag]Phillip Hawes[/autotag] (middleweight)
  • [autotag]Chris Weidman[/autotag] (middleweight)
  • [autotag]Devin Clark[/autotag] (light heavyweight)
  • [autotag]Ovince Saint Preux[/autotag] (light heavyweight)
  • [autotag]Fabricio Werdum[/autotag] (heavyweight)
  • [autotag]Aleksei Oleinik[/autotag] (heavyweight)

24 fights on our 2024 MMA wish list: Francis Ngannou vs. Jon Jones (still), Conor McGregor vs. Nate Diaz 3, more

Here’s MMA Junkie’s 24-fight wishlist for the new year.

2023 didn’t disappoint in terms of great MMA action, and 2024 looks just as promising, if not more.

With 2024 underway, there’s a new year of fresh possibilities for dream matchups across the MMA landscape, from the UFC to Bellator, PFL, RIZIN FF, ONE Championship and more.

For 2023, unfortunately, only four of the 23 dream fights MMA Junkie wished for came to fruition. We’re not deterred, however, and are back with another slate of 24 matchups we aspire to see in 2024.

Below, we present MMA Junkie’s wish list of 24 fights we’d like to see in 2024.

Gegard Mousasi, Derek Brunson trade shots over potential PFL fight date: ‘No one is avoiding you’

It appears a PFL fight between Gegard Mousasi and Derek Brunson is in the works, but both fighters aren’t yet on the same page.

It appears a fight between former Bellator champion [autotag]Gegard Mousasi[/autotag] and [autotag]Derek Brunson[/autotag] is in the works, but both fighters aren’t yet on the same page.

Mousasi (49-9-2), who hasn’t competed since a unanimous decision loss to Fabian Edwards at Bellator 296 in May, recently took to social media and revealed a matchup Brunson (24-9), who is coming off a successful PFL debut win this month over Ray Cooper III, is being discussed.

According to Mousasi, Brunson turned down the fight on three occasions (via X):

Update: PFL wants to fight me very soon against @DerekBrunson. Derek refused to accept the fight again. He said he wanted nothing to do with it. 3x he has refused to fight me over the years.The fans lose. Let’s hope PFL can find me a MW. I am ready.

The accusation didn’t sit well with Brunson. The former longtime UFC middleweight contender told MMA Junkie after his PFL debut that he’s seeking notable fights, and with crossover possibilities available now that PFL and Bellator are under the same ownership, Mousasi would seemingly fit the bill.

Brunson said he’s in no way avoiding Mousasi, but the timeline he was presented doesn’t fit his current life plans (via X):

Stop the cap 🧢 @mousasi_mma. No one is avoiding you . I’m enjoying the holidays with my family and kids . I already missed thanksgiving. I won’t accept a fight that I can’t dedicate a camp to . Goofy a*** boy 😂😂😂

Mousasi responded with frustration to Brunson’s comments. He said the word from PFL brass has differed from what his potential opponent is claiming publicly, and Mousasi mocked Brunson while teasing the fight could still happen (via X):

Holidays? Very different than what PFL told us and you know even with Christmas you have plenty of time for a camp. The date was far out. Easy on the cheeseburgers and don’t lie, you are not a real LHW. See you soon.

If the bout between Mousasi, 38, and Brunson, 39, eventually materializes, it would be a long time coming. The veteran of the now-defunct Strikeforce organization were scheduled to meet at UFC 200 in July 2016, but Brunson was forced to withdraw due to vision issues.

Mousasi defeated replacement opponent Thiago Santos by first-round knockout on the UFC 200 card, and he hasn’t been linked to another fight with Brunson until now.

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Derek Brunson explains Jake Paul call out after PFL debut, open to fighting Bellator champ Johnny Eblen

Derek Brunson lays out his potential options following his successful PFL debut win over Ray Cooper III.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – [autotag]Derek Brunson[/autotag] fought under a different banner for the first time since 2012, and came out with a fairly dominant win. Now the former UFC middleweight wants fights against Jake Paul or Johnny Eblen.

In the opening bout of 2023 PFL Championship, Brunson made his promotional debut against Ray Cooper III. Aside from getting rocked by a short hook from Cooper while attempting a takedown, the fight was a one-sided unanimous decision win behind Brunson’s smothering wrestling game. During his post-fight interview, Brunson called for a fight against Jake Paul.

“I came here to ball, where the hell is Jake Paul?” Brunson said during his in-cage post-fight interview with Dan Hardy. “I came for the big fights. I want to put PFL on the map. They showed faith in me, brought me over here, signed me, and I want to put on a show for the fans.”

Paul, 26, has begun preparing to make his MMA debut late in 2024 after starting his combat sports career in the boxing ring. Brunson, 39, would like to test Paul’s skills in both disciplines.

“We might could do a 1-1,” Brunson told MMA Junkie. “I came here for big fights, put on big shows. The fact of the matter is, PFL is a great organization. There’s six millionaires tonight. I don’t know if that happened in any other promotion.”

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Paul isn’t the only option on Brunson’s radar. Since the PFL acquired Bellator, the promotion has been teasing an upcoming event that will see each promotion’s champions take on one another. While the PFL does not have a middleweight champion, Bellator does in Eblen. Brunson would be up for that matchup as well.

“I saw Johnny after I left the cage, he was like, ‘What’s up, man? Congrats on the fight. Let’s get a big fight. Let’s make some money,'” Brunson said. “I’m like hey, let’s talk about it. There’s option’s here, man. The purchase with Bellator was great. A lot of top guys over there. Now it’s a collab. The sky’s the limit for PFL right now.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for 2023 PFL Championship.

Derek Brunson def. Ray Cooper III at 2023 PFL Championship: Best photos

Check out these photos from Derek Brunson vs. Ray Cooper III at 2023 PFL Championship in Washington, D.C.

Check out these photos from [autotag]Derek Brunson[/autotag]’s PFL debut victory over Ray Cooper III at 2023 PFL Championship at The Anthem in Washington, D.C. (Photos by Cooper Neill, PFL MMA)

2023 PFL Championship results: Derek Brunson dominates in debut decision over Ray Cooper III

In his first fight since exiting the UFC, Derek Brunson’s wrestling was too much for Ray Cooper III to handle at 2023 PFL Championship.

[autotag]Derek Brunson[/autotag] shined in his first fight under the PFL banner.

In a 186-pound catchweight bout that opened the main card of 2023 PFL Championship at The Anthem in Washington, D.C., Brunson (24-9) dominated Ray Cooper III (25-9-1) behind his wrestling to earn unanimous scores of 30-27, 30-25, and 30-25.

Brunson came out looking for a highlight reel moment with a spinning heel kick, but Cooper was ready for it. A battle for position in the clinch followed, but Cooper was able to separate and look to land heavy shots. Brunson appeared stronger in the clinch. He lifted Cooper’s leg high to get a takedown, but Cooper rocked Brunson with a hard short left.

Reeling from the damage, Brunson knew he couldn’t take much more, and immediately hit a nice trip takedown to stop Cooper’s momentum. Brunson took full mount, postured up and began raining down hard punches. Referee Kevin Mulhall stepped in closer as each punch landed. Cooper did just enough defensively to survive until the end of the round.

Brunson didn’t waste much time getting the fight back to the mat in Round 2. In back mount, Brunson patiently looked for openings for punches while maintaining control. It was a dominant frame for Brunson who didn’t allow Cooper to escape from the bottom.

Looking to change the course of the fight, Cooper surprised Brunson with a takedown of his own early in the final round. Brunson did well to keep Cooper locked down, and eventually reversed position to take top control. Staying busy with short punches to the body and head, Brunson smothered Cooper until the final horn.

The fight was Brunson’s debut in the PFL after exiting the UFC following a loss in March to Dricus Du Plessis. Brunson had 21 fights in the UFC, a run that began in 2012.

Up-to-the-minute results of 2023 PFL Championship include:

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for 2023 PFL Championship.

UFC veterans in MMA action Nov. 23-24

Check out which veterans of the UFC are competing in combat sports across the globe this weekend.

This week, the UFC is idle during Thanksgiving week.

Elsewhere, many other combat sports events are taking place that feature a number of familiar names that have competed under the UFC banner.

Check out which veterans of the global MMA leader are competing Nov. 23-24.

Scroll below to see how the UFC veterans fared last week, and see the names and details of this weekend’s competitors.

Upcoming event information from Tapology.

2023 PFL Championship pay-per-view price revealed

Is the 2023 PFL Championship priced fairly for five title fights and two feature bouts?

The 2023 PFL Championship is just days away, and ESPN has released what it’ll cost viewers who purchase.

As of Sunday, ESPN+ has the event listed at a selling price of $49.99, according to the point-of-purchase page online. The 2023 PFL Championship takes place Friday at The Anthem in Washington, D.C.

A pay-per-view purchase unlocks seven fights: five season championship bouts and two feature fights: [autotag]Kayla Harrison[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Aspen Ladd[/autotag] and [autotag]Derek Brunson[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Ray Cooper III[/autotag].

The price remains constant from the 2022 PFL Championships, which featured six title fights and no feature bouts.

The 2023 PFL Championship lineup includes:

MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view, 8 p.m. ET)

  • Olivier Aubin-Mercier vs. Clay Collard – lightweight season final
  • Renan Ferreira vs. Denis Goltsov – heavyweight title
  • Marina Mokhnatkina vs. Larissa Pacheco – women’s featherweight season final
  • Magomed Magomedkerimov vs. Sadibou Sy – welterweight season final
  • Impa Kasanganay vs. Josh Silveira – light heavyweight season final
  • Kayla Harrison vs. Aspen Ladd
  • Derek Brunson vs. Ray Cooper III

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, 5 p.m. ET)

  • Gabriel Braga vs. Jesus Pinedo – featherweight season final
  • Biaggio Ali Walsh vs. Joel Lopez
  • Bubba Jenkins vs. Chris Wade
  • Phil Caracappa vs. Khai Wu
  • Josh Blyden vs. Jesse Stirn

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for 2023 PFL Championship.

Derek Brunson on what led him to PFL free agent signing: ‘There’s no lobbying for what you want’

Derek Brunson likes that in PFL, winning solves everything.

[autotag]Derek Brunson[/autotag] likes that in the PFL, winning solves everything.

Brunson (23-9) signed with PFL after parting ways with the UFC. The 39-year-old makes his promotional debut at 2023 PFL Championships on Nov. 24 when he takes on Ray Cooper III (25-8-1) in a middleweight bout at The Anthem in Washington, D.C.

Despite stringing together five-fight winning streaks on two different occasions in the UFC, Brunson never fought for the title. He likes the tournament format of PFL, where he only has to worry about winning.

“They’ve got the $1 million tournament – guys stay busy,” Brunson told MMA Junkie Radio. “There’s no lobbying for what you want. You go out and get it. UFC, man – I think in some of these title eliminators, I was on these huge five-fight winning streaks twice and I never got a title shot. Right after the fight, I felt like, ‘OK, I win this one, I get a title shot,’ and I didn’t get it and I felt kind of dejected, lacking motivation. I wasn’t getting up for the fights where now, I’ve got a new motivation.”

A UFC belt would have been nice for Brunson’s career, but he would rather get an opportunity at $1 million.

“Give me the million dollars every day of the week,” Brunson said. “I can go out here, fight a couple of times, get my million, and just chill for a little bit, recover. So, yeah, I definitely like that format – and it goes back to I don’t have to lobby for anything. All I have to do is just win fights.

“I can knock somebody out, I can submit somebody, I can win an ugly fight. But at the end of the day, I move on and advance, and I can improve in the next fight. I don’t have to, ‘Oh it wasn’t a great fight, so maybe I have to fight another one.’ I don’t have to do all that. I just go out there and win.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for 2023 PFL Championships.

MMA Junkie Radio #3403: PFL signee Derek Brunson, UFC preview, more

Check out the latest episode of MMA Junkie Radio with “Gorgeous” George and “Goze” right here.


Thursday’s edition of MMA Junkie Radio with “Gorgeous” George and “Goze” is here.

On Episode 3,403, the fellas welcomed in guest [autotag]Derek Brunson[/autotag], who just signed with the PFL after years in the UFC. They also looked ahead to UFC Fight Night 230 in Las Vegas, as well as the Logan Paul vs. Dillon Danis boxing match, discussed the latest MMA news and more. Tune in!