Tag: Derek Brunson

Derek Brunson books PFL debut vs. Ray Cooper III at championships event

Derek Brunson draws a former PFL champion in his promotional debut.

[autotag]Derek Brunson[/autotag] has drawn a former PFL champion in his promotional debut.

Brunson (23-9) takes on [autotag]Ray Cooper III[/autotag] (25-8-1) in a middleweight bout Nov. 24 at 2023 PFL Championships, which takes place at The Anthem in Washington, D.C., promotion officials announced Friday.

Brunson, 39, signed with PFL after parting ways with the UFC. The perennial middleweight contender never fought for a UFC title but racked up impressive wins over the likes of Lyoto Machida, Uriah Hall, Kevin Holland, and Darren Till during his more than decade-long octagon tenure.

Cooper, a two-time PFL welterweight champion, missed out on the 2022 playoffs after an upset loss to Carlos Leal. He rebounded with a 24-second knockout of Brett Cooper in July 2022, but it wasn’t enough for him to advance.

It will have been almost 17 months since Cooper last competed when he steps into the cage against Brunson, who most recently lost to Dricus Du Plessis this past March at UFC 285.

Below is the updated 2023 PFL World Championships lineup

MAIN CARD (ESPN+ pay-per-view)

  • Clay Collard vs. Olivier Aubin-Mercier – lightweight final
  • Denis Goltsov vs. Renan Ferreira –heavyweight final
  • Larissa Pacheco vs. Marina Mokhnatkina – women’s featherweight final
  • Julia Budd vs. Kayla Harrison
  • Magomed Magomedkerimov vs. Sadibou Sy – welterweight final
  • Jesus Pinedo vs. Gabriel Braga – featherweight final
  • Josh Silveira vs. Impa Kasanganay – light heavyweight final

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+)

  • Derek Brunson vs. Ray Cooper III
  • Biaggio Ali Walsh vs. Joel Lopez
  • Bubba Jenkins vs. Chris Wade
  • Phil Caracappa vs. Khai Wu
  • Josh Blyden vs. Jesse Stirn

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

Derek Brunson signs with PFL for light heavyweight tournament, says manager

Derek Brunson departed the UFC in September and didn’t take long to sign with PFL, according to Ali Abdelaziz, of Dominance MMA.

Former UFC middleweight contender [autotag]Derek Brunson[/autotag] is headed to the PFL.

According to his manager Ali Abdelaziz, of Dominance MMA, Brunson (23-9) has signed with PFL and will join the promotion’s $1 million light heavyweight tournament, set to begin in 2024. Abdelaziz said the news in an interview with “The Schmo” released Thursday. Abdelaziz did not reveal a promotional debut date or opponent.

PFL officials did not have comment when contacted by MMA Junkie.

Thursday afternoon, Brunson posted about his new career move on social media.

“New kid on the block,” Brunson wrote on X. “Blonde Brunson 2.0. Million dollar tournament incoming!”

Brunson, 39, departed the UFC in September right before what appeared to be the final bout on six-fight deal that he signed in December 2019. Brunson was announced to fight vs. Roman Dolidze at UFC 295 in November at the time of his UFC contract termination, which Abdelaziz previously indicated was a mutual decision.

While Brunson currently finds himself on a two-fight skid with consecutive defeats to top contenders Jared Cannonier and Dricus Du Plessis.

Brunson competed 21 times in the UFC from the Strikeforce merger in late 2012 through his March loss to Du Plessis. Key victories under the promotion’s banner included Lyoto Machida, Darren Till, Kevin Holland, Uriah Hall.

Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (Sept. 4-10)

All the UFC and Bellator fight announcements that were first reported or confirmed by MMA Junkie in the past week.

MMA fight announcements are hard to follow. With so many outlets and channels available, it’s nearly impossible to organize.

But here at MMA Junkie, we’ve got your back.

Each week, we’ll compile all the newly surfaced fights in one spot. Every Monday, expect a feature listing everything you might have missed from the UFC or Bellator.

Here are the fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie or officially announced by the promotions from Sept. 4-10.

UFC 295 adds two more contender fights to Madison Square Garden lineup

Four more contenders have been added to UFC 295 in New York City.

Two top middleweights and two top flyweights will collide at UFC 295 this November.

Longtime contender [autotag]Derek Brunson[/autotag] returns Nov. 11 when he takes on [autotag]Roman Dolidze[/autotag]. Both men aim to bounce back from recent losses. Additionally, ranked flyweights [autotag]Steve Erceg[/autotag] and [autotag]Matt Schnell[/autotag] have been once again booked to face one another. The event takes place at Madison Square Garden in New York.

The promotion officially announced both bouts Wednesday. The Brunson-Doldize matchup was first reported by Sentanta Sports.

Brunson (23-9 MMA, 17-8 UFC) teased retirement in recent years but pivoted away from that idea at the end of 2022. Brunson attempts to snap a two-fight skid. While the losses came by TKO, they came against top contenders Jared Cannonier and Marvin Vettori. Prior to the skid, Brunson won five in a row.

Dolidze (12-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC) was on a tear through the middleweight division until he faced Vettori in March and lost a unanimous decision. The defeat snapped a four-fight winning streak that included TKO victories over Jack Hermansson and Phil Hawes among others.

Erceg (10-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) and Schnell (16-8 MMA, 6-5 UFC) were originally scheduled to fight at UFC 289 in June in what was to be Erceg’s promotional debut. Schnell withdrew from the fight and was replaced by David Dvorak, who Erceg defeated by unanimous decision.

With the additions, the UFC 295 lineup includes:

  • Champion Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic – for heavyweight title
  • Derek Brunson vs. Roman Dolidze
  • Jessica Andrade vs. Mackenzie Dern
  • Steve Erceg vs. Matt Schnell
  • Kevin Borjas vs. Joshua Van

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 295.

16 UFC fighters past and present who run their own MMA promotions

Check out which UFC fighters of the past and present currently run their own promotions.

In the fight game, fighters fight and promoters largely promote. It’s a nearly exclusive rule, but there are some exceptions.

While promoters never fight, occasionally a fighter will promote.

An increasing trend in recent years, more and more combat sports athletes are testing out the waters of running their own promotions. Oftentimes, it’s a fighter who has some name recognition, buzz, or influence in the sport. There are exceptions to the rule, however – fighters who have just figured out how to run a regional promotion successfully.

There are the more obvious stars like [autotag]Khabib Nurmagomedov[/autotag] and [autotag]Jorge Masvidal[/autotag], who have used their big platforms to promote their recent dive into promoting. There are also others who have quietly promoted behind the scenes for years.

Scroll below to see which current and former UFC fighters currently run their own promotions.

Note: Promotions that have not held an event since before 2019 were not included in this list – and this list is not necessarily all-inclusive.

UFC 285 post-event facts: Jon Jones enters a class of his own with heavyweight title win

The numbers show Jon Jones stands in rarified air after making it 15-0 in title fights when he claimed heavyweight gold at UFC 285.

The biggest UFC event of 2023 thus far delivered in spades Saturday with UFC 285 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The 14-fight lineup featured eight finishes and two new champions crowned.

In the main event, [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag] (27-1 MMA, 21-1 UFC) returned from a 37-month layoff and joined an exclusive club of two-division titleholders. The former longtime light heavyweight champion captured heavyweight gold with a first-round submission of [autotag]Ciryl Gane[/autotag] (11-2 MMA, 8-2 UFC).

The co-headliner saw [autotag]Alexa Grasso[/autotag] (16-3 MMA, 8-3 UFC) pull off one of the biggest title-fight upsets in recent memory when she dethroned [autotag]Valentina Shevchenko[/autotag] (23-4 MMA, 12-3 UFC) with a fourth-round submission to capture the women’s flyweight title.

For more on the numbers coming out of both championship contests, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from UFC 285.

UFC 285 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Jon Jones nets $32,000 in octagon return

Jon Jones and Ciryl Gane both received an equal $32,000 in UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay for their UFC 285 title fight.

LAS VEGAS – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC 285 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $282,500.

The program, a comprehensive plan that includes outfitting requirements, media obligations and other items under the fighter code of conduct, replaces the previous payments made under the UFC Athlete Outfitting Policy.

UFC 285 took place at T-Mobile Arena. The main card aired on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and ESPN+.

The full UFC 285 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

[autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag]: $32,000
def. [autotag]Ciryl Gane[/autotag]: $32,000

[autotag]Alexa Grasso[/autotag]: $32,000
def. [autotag]Valentina Shevchenko[/autotag]: $42,000

[autotag]Shavkat Rakhmonov[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Geoff Neal[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Mateusz Gamrot[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Jalin Turner[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Bo Nickal[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Jamie Pickett[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Cody Garbrandt[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Trevin Jones[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Dricus Du Plessis[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Derek Brunson[/autotag]: $21,000

[autotag]Amanda Ribas[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Viviane Araujo[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Marc-Andre Barriault[/autotag]: $6,000
def.[autotag]Julian Marquez[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Ian Garry[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Song Kenan[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Cameron Saaiman[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Mana Martinez[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Tabatha Ricci[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Jessica Penne[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Farid Basharat[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Da’Mon Blackshear[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Loik Radzhabov[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Esteban Ribovics[/autotag]: $4,000

Under the UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance program’s payout tiers, which appropriate the money generated by Venum’s multi-year sponsorship with the UFC, fighters are paid based on their total number of UFC bouts, as well as Zuffa-era WEC fights (January 2007 and later) and Zuffa-era Strikeforce bouts (April 2011 and later). Fighters with 1-3 bouts receive $4,000 per appearance; 4-5 bouts get $4,500; 6-10 bouts get $6,000; 11-15 bouts earn $11,000; 16-20 bouts pocket $16,000; and 21 bouts and more get $21,000. Additionally, champions earn $42,000 while title challengers get $32,000.

In addition to experience-based pay, UFC fighters will receive in perpetuity royalty payments amounting to 20-30 percent of any UFC merchandise sold that bears their likeness, according to officials.

Full 2023 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:

Year-to-date total: $1,440,000
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $15,959,000

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 285.

UFC 285 results: Derek Brunson’s corner throws in towel after Dricus Du Plessis turns the tides

At UFC 285, Derek Brunson’s coach Dre Herd saw enough and threw in the towel to stop the Dricus Du Plessis onslaught.

Corner stoppages aren’t very frequent in mixed martial arts, but one of the UFC 285 prelims Saturday ended after a towel was thrown in by a coach.

After [autotag]Dricus Du Plessis[/autotag] turned the tides and landed heavy ground-and-pound, [autotag]Derek Brunson[/autotag]’s boxing coach Dre Herd called a stop to the fight at 4:59 of Round 2. The bout took place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

The bout was a wild 10 minutes in which both men had their moments. Both men attempted leg submissions simultaneously in an unusual grappling exchange in Round 1 before Brunson (23-9 MMA, 14-7 UFC) found significant success with his boxing.

Du Plessis (19-2 MMA, 5-0 UFC) reversed the momentum with a massive leg kick in Round 2 that seemed to disable Brunson and limit movement. Brunson found the mark for a charging flurry, but Du Plessis responded with some hard punches including a right hand that dropped his opponent.

Once on the canvas, Brunson flailed his arms and legs. Du Plessis snuck through a massive left hand in the final seconds that clattered Brunson’s head off the canvas and got the towel-throw reaction from the corner.

Du Plessis, 29, has won seven fights in a row. Other UFC victories include Darren Till and Brad Tavares. The other side of the equation, Brunson has now lost back-to-back fights by TKO.

Up-to-the-minute UFC 285 results include:

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 285.

Henry Cejudo receives first 75 clean USADA test award; Derek Brunson, Brian Ortega hit 50

After the UFC 285 official weigh-ins, Henry Cejudo was awarded the first award for 75 clean USADA tests.

LAS VEGAS – A trio of high-profile UFC fighters were honored for their clean testing records under the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency program.

After the official weigh-ins for UFC 285, former two-division champion [autotag]Henry Cejudo[/autotag], featherweight [autotag]Brian Ortega[/autotag], and middleweight [autotag]Derek Brunson[/autotag] received awards for their milestones.

All three received a jacket for 50 clean tests, but Cejudo (16-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC) added another medal to his collection for reaching 75, becoming the first athlete to reach the number and receive the pin award.

“Henry’s got a unique story, because, in addition to the UFC program, Henry is an Olympic USA wrestler gold-medalist, was under the USADA program previous to the UFC,” UFC senior vice president of athlete health and performance Jeff Novitzky said. “So all combined, Henry has 82 perfect test history under the USADA program. … I think it’s noteworthy here that when it’s all said and done with Henry – Olympic gold medalist, two-division UFC champion – another part of his story is that he did it all clean. You just don’t see that at the professional sports level with the body of work that he has, proving to the world that he did it the right way.”

Cejudo is targeted to return to action to face Aljamain Sterling in a bantamweight title fight at UFC 288. “The Messenger” retired after finishing Dominick Cruz at UFC 249 in May 2020. Ortega (15-3 MMA, 7-3 UFC) was last seen in action last July, looking to rebound from a title challenge loss to Alexander Volkanovski. Brunson (23-8 MMA, 14-6 UFC) steps into the cage at UFC 285 to challenge Dricus Du Plessis.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 285.

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Derek Brunson plans to keep winning until he gets ‘Michael Bisping title shot’

Derek Brunson hopes he can earn a UFC middleweight title shot to close out his career.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Derek Brunson[/autotag] hopes he can earn a title shot to close out his career.

Brunson (23-8 MMA, 14-6 UFC) meets [autotag]Dricus Du Plessis[/autotag] (18-2 MMA, 4-0 UFC) on Saturday’s UFC 285 prelims at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and early prelims on ESPN+.

Du Plessis marks yet another lower-ranked fighter whom Brunson has been matched up against. But as long as he continues knocking off contenders, Brunson thinks he can’t be denied his first shot at gold.

“I just need to win,” Brunson told reporters at the UFC 285 media day on Wednesday. “If I’m ultimately going to  get that Michael Bisping title shot, I’ve just got to go out here keep winning, holding my spot and be ready.”

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Du Plessis is unbeaten in the UFC and all but one of his professional wins have come by finish. But having fought the likes of ex-champions Israel Adesanya, Robert Whittaker and Anderson Silva, Brunson says he’s seen it all at this point.

“He doesn’t really do anything that I haven’t seen before,” Brunson said. “He’s a tough guy, a lot of forward action, comes to fight.

“A fight is a fight. I would say this is going to be his hardest test. When you’re in high school, you take all of these tests, then you got the finals. So this is the finals for him to see exactly where he’s at.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 285.