UFC middleweight contender Derek Brunson says his move to UFC 271 was to serve as backup for Israel Adesanya vs. Robert Whittaker.
MIAMI – [autotag]Derek Brunson[/autotag] thinks he’s closing in on the UFC middleweight belt.
The longtime contender thinks he could soon be getting a title shot whether it happens in his next fight or the one after.
Brunson (23-7 MMA, 14-5 UFC) is scheduled to take on fellow top contender Jared Cannonier. The two were originally booked to fight at UFC 270 on Jan. 22, but their bout was moved to UFC 271 on Feb. 12 in Houston, where the UFC middleweight title fight between Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker will take place.
The 38-year-old said the switch in event was because the UFC wanted to set up potential backup opponents for the championship fight.
“The UFC – I think they just wanted a backup for the title fight in case somebody went down and got injured,” Brunson told MMA Junkie. “They have two guys – (1)85ers, (No.) 3 and 4-ranked guys – that can jump in for the title shot.”
Brunson currently is on a five-fight winning streak and has headlined UFC cards in his past three bouts. The Sanford MMA-based fighter is in good career form. Brunson doesn’t have any problem stepping in on short notice to face either Whittaker or Adesanya if the opportunity were to arise.
“Oh, yeah, for sure (I would step in),” Brunson said. “I’ve been waiting for the opportunity – five in a row, and I’ve been waiting for that title shot. So yeah, if the opportunity comes up, for sure.”
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But for now, Brunson will have to focus on Cannonier, who’s 4-1 in his past five performances. Brunson knows Cannonier is a dangerous opponent, but he’s unfazed by the challenge.
“I know he’s like a good striker, a big powerful guy. But I’m a well-rounded guy,” Brunson said. “You have to bring a lot more than that to the table. My whole thing is in this training camp to worry about myself and not let guys get lucky and be a complete mixed martial artist.”
It hasn’t been an easy path back to a title shot for former UFC champion Robert Whittaker.
It hasn’t been an easy path back to a title shot for former UFC champion [autotag]Robert Whittaker[/autotag].
After he lost the middleweight title to Israel Adesanya in October 2019, Whittaker has come storming back with three straight decision wins over the division’s top contenders: Darren Till, Jared Cannonier and, most recently, Kelvin Gastelum.
His Fight of the Night main event win over Gastelum in April 2021 was a shutout on the judges’ scorecards. After Adesanya defended his title against Marvin Vettori two months later, it became clear that Whittaker was next in line.
At UFC 271 on Feb. 12 at Toyota Center in Houston, Whittaker (23-5 MMA, 14-3 UFC) challenges Adesanya (21-1 MMA, 10-1 UFC) in the main event. After Adesanya knocked him out at UFC 243 to win the belt, Whittaker said he needed to make some changes, and it started by admitting his own ego may have gotten in the way.
“”Other opponents have tried (to get in my head like Adesanya did),” Whittaker told MMA Junkie. “I think it was a whole host of different things that got into my own head, and there was a lot of things on my end – it’s the way I handled them and the way I took them that made it worse.
“I think (Adesanya) even mentioned it – that my ego was something that affected me. As much as I don’t want to acknowledge my opponent for insight, my ego probably was a big thing, was a big part of why my head space wasn’t where it should’ve been for that fight – why I was letting the debate between Australia and New Zealand get to me, why I was letting all these little things get to me. It showed. The results of that showed in the way I was behaving, in the way I put the fight together and the way I was fighting in the moment. I’ve acknowledged all of that and you can see obviously I’ve come to terms with all of that and I’m a different fighter now than I was then.”
Whittaker’s performance against Gastelum was of particular importance on his climb back to a title shot. While his wins over Till and Cannonier were close fights – 48-47 on all three scorecards in his headliner against Till and 29-28 on all three against Cannonier – the win over Gastelum never really was in doubt.
Whittaker outlanded Gastelum 169-70 and hit four takedowns in the fight. If he started correcting his mistakes from the first Adesanya fight against Till and made some more adjustments against Cannonier, it appeared he put everything together against Gastelum.
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“The only time I feel as an athlete you can correct yourself, you can do better, you can get better, is when you acknowledge your mistakes,” Whittaker said. “That’s what I’ve been doing since that first loss (to Adesanya). And every fight since that loss, I’ve been putting things together, acknowledging what I could do better, what I did wrong, what I could change, and it’s all led me to here. I’m very excited to get in there and put my skills to the test again.”
There were mistakes Whittaker says he made against Adesanya the first time. And while those mistakes would appear to be physical in nature to most observers, Whittaker thinks a lot of it had to do with the way he approached the fight mentally and emotionally.
Will the rematch be different? Whittaker thinks it will be.
“Getting hit in the face – definitely that one (was my biggest mistake),” Whittaker said. “(But) probably my recklessness – I was recklessly charging in. I was falling into every one of his baits, every one of his traps, and just stubbornly trying to press forward, trying to press the attack, (and) rip his head off. That’s what was going through my head, and it didn’t work. It didn’t work. That’s not how I usually fight. You don’t see me fight like that in a lot of my other fights, forever.
“I have addressed it. I’ve reflected on it, and we’re going to try to get in there and do something different this next time.”
Derrick Lewis will get to throw down in his home city once again when he faces the streaking Tai Tuivasa.
It looks like [autotag]Derrick Lewis[/autotag] will get to throw down in his home city once again when he faces the streaking [autotag]Tai Tuivasa[/autotag].
A fight between Lewis (26-8 MMA, 17-6 UFC) and Tuivasa (14-3 MMA, 7-3 UFC) is in the works for UFC 271, which takes place Feb. 12 at Toyota Center in Houston.
Two people with knowledge of the booking recently informed MMA Junkie of the matchup but asked to remain anonymous since the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.
Lewis broke the record for most knockouts in UFC history when he took out Chris Daukaus in Round 1 of the UFC Fight Night 199 main event in December. “The Black Beast” has won five of his past six. His lone loss came in an interim heavyweight title fight against Ciryl Gane at UFC 265, also in Houston.
Tuivasa is enjoying the best run of his career. The 28-year-old Aussie, who’s been training out of Dubai under head coach Shaun Sullivan, has knocked out his past four opponents, including back-to-back Performance of the Night finishes of Greg Hardy and Augusto Sakai.
With the addition, the UFC 271 lineup includes:
Champ Israel Adesanya vs. Robert Whittaker – for middleweight title
The likely middleweight title eliminator between Derek Brunson and Jared Cannonier has a new date and location.
The likely middleweight title eliminator between [autotag]Derek Brunson[/autotag] and [autotag]Jared Cannonier[/autotag] has a new date and location.
After originally being booked for UFC 270 on Jan. 22, the matchup between Brunson (23-7 MMA, 14-5 UFC) and Cannonier (14-5 MMA, 7-5 UFC) has been shifted to UFC 271 on Feb. 12 in Houston.
MMA Junkie confirmed the change with a person close to the situation following an initial report from UFC broadcast partner ESPN.
The switch adds more depth at 185 pounds to the lineup, which is headlined by a championship rematch between Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker.
Brunson, 37, rides a five-fight winning streak into one of the biggest opportunities of his career. The recent stretch of success includes victories over Elias Theodorou, Ian Heinisch, Edmen Shahbazyan, Kevin Holland, and most recently Darren Till.
Cannonier, 37, enters the fight a winner of four of his past five outings. Outside of a loss to Robert Whittaker two fights ago, Cannonier has racked up wins over David Branch, Anderson Silva, Jack Hermansson, and most recently Kelvin Gastelum.
The latest UFC 271 lineup now includes:
Israel Adesanya vs. Robert Whittaker – for middleweight title
It’ll mark the third time the UFC has held an event in Houston in 10 months’ time.
The UFC is heading back to Houston once again.
For the third time in less than one calendar year, the UFC will set up shop on Houston soil for a pay-per-view event. This time, it’ll be UFC 271, which takes place Feb. 12, as fighters competing on the card and their teams have been notified of the promotion’s plans.
Four people with knowledge of the situation Monday confirmed the plans to MMA Junkie but asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.
Since the promotion has returned to holding pay-per-view events in front of live crowds, it has held two in front of the Houston faithful: UFC 262 in May 2021 and UFC 265 in August.
Both events took place at Toyota Center. Following the first of the two 2020 events in Houston, the promotion announced a new two-event deal with the venue.
UFC 271 has not been officially announced but a title fight between middleweight champion Israel Adesanya and former titleholder Robert Whittaker has been linked to the event.
Two of City Kickboxing’s rising stars will compete at UFC 271.
Two of City Kickboxing’s rising stars will compete at UFC 271.
The Feb. 12 event, which is expected to be headlined by the Israel Adesanya vs. Robert Whittaker title fight rematch, does not yet have a publicly known venue or location.
But two fighters from New Zealand’s famed City Kickboxing team have been confirmed for the card. [autotag]Carlos Ulberg[/autotag] (3-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) will meet [autotag]Fabio Cherant[/autotag] (7-3 MMA, 0-2 UFC) in a light heavyweight bout and [autotag]Mike Diamond[/autotag] (3-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) will make his promotional debut when he takes on [autotag]Orion Cosce[/autotag] (7-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) in a welterweight bout.
Two people with knowledge of the matchups recently informed MMA Junkie of the booking but asked to remain anonymous since the promotion has yet to make an official announcement. Cageside Press was first to report the Ulberg fight, whereas MMA Fighting was first to report the Diamond booking.
Ulberg will look to rebound from his UFC debut loss in March. The accomplished kickboxer, who earned a UFC deal on the Contender Series, was stopped by Kennedy Nzechukwu in the second round at UFC 259, earning the “Fight of the Night” honors for his efforts. Meanwhile, Cherant will also be in search of his first octagon win. The former LFA champion dropped his first two octagon bouts to Alonzo Menifield, and most recently William Knight in August.
Two-time King in the Ring kickboxing tournament winner “Blood” Diamond was signed to a four-fight UFC deal in July. The Zimbabwe-born fighter is unbeaten in his MMA career, most recently scoring a unanimous decision win over Dimps Gillies in February 2020. His opponent Cosce punched his ticket to the UFC through Dana White’s Contender Series in August 2020 when he rallied to TKO Matt Dixon. However, Cosce would suffer his first-career defeat in his promotional debut when he was stopped by Phil Rowe in July.
With the additions, the UFC 271 lineup now includes:
One of the true pioneers of women’s MMA has decided to hang up her gloves after one final fight – her 50th.
One of the true pioneers of women’s MMA has decided to hang up her gloves after one final fight – her 50th.
[autotag]Roxanne Modafferi[/autotag] (25-19 MMA, 4-7 UFC) on Thursday announced a women’s flyweight fight booking against [autotag]Casey O’Neill[/autotag] (8-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) for UFC 271. Modafferi made the announcement on her Instagram account, though the UFC has not yet made the matchup official.
UFC 271 takes place Feb. 12, but does not yet have an announced city or venue. The main card will air on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and ESPN+. The placement of the Modafferi-O’Neill bout is not yet known.
Modafferi has 44 pro fights on her official record, but had another five bouts on two separate seasons of “The Ultimate Fighter,” which bring her unofficial tally to 49. And by her count, that will bring the overall number of fights, including the exhibition bouts on “TUF,” up to 50 when she steps in the cage with O’Neill.
The 39-year-old Modafferi, who startedd her career in 2003, has dropped three of her past four fights, all by decision. The Las Vegas-based jiu-jitsu standout hasn’t been finished in a fight since October 2011.
Modafferi alternated wins and losses for 10 straight fights before a second straight setback in September – a loss to Taila Santos at UFC 266. Prior to that, she was outpointed by Viviane Araujo in January on the heels of an upset win over Andrea Lee in September 2020. Modafferi’s most recent three wins, in fact, have been significant upsets against Lee, Maycee Barber and Antonina Shevchenko.
O’Neill, who has but a fraction of the pro experience of Modafferi, stayed perfect in October when she stopped Shevchenko with a second-round TKO. She debuted in the UFC earlier this year with a second-round TKO of Shana Dobson in February and followed that up with a third-round submission of Lara Procopio in June, which gave her four straight finishes overall.
With the addition, the UFC 271 lineup now includes:
Roxanne Modafferi will look to halt another rising contender’s momentum when she meets Casey O’Neill.
[autotag]Roxanne Modafferi[/autotag] will look to halt another rising contender’s momentum when she meets [autotag]Casey O’Neill[/autotag].
Modafferi (25-19 MMA, 4-6 UFC) faces O’Neill (8-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) at UFC 271 on Feb. 12 at a location yet to be announced. A person with knowledge of the situation confirmed the booking to MMA Junkie after an initial report by Instagram page MMA Ideas.
Modafferi, 39, has dropped three of her past five and is coming off back-to-back unanimous decision losses to Viviane Araujo and Taila Santos. The former title challenger’s two wins in that stretch came in a big upset win over Maycee Barber and Andrea Lee.
Unbeaten prospect O’Neill is 3-0 to kick off her UFC tenure, picking up three finishes in 2021. The 24-year-old scored her biggest win to date in October when she finished Antonina Shevchenko via second-round TKO for the “Performance of the Night” bonus.
With the addition, the UFC 271 lineup now includes:
A pair of lightweights looking to get on their first winning streaks in years have agreed to fight in February.
A pair of lightweights looking to get on their first winning streaks in years have agreed to fight in February.
[autotag]Alexander Hernandez [/autotag](13-4 MMA, 5-3 UFC) is set to take on [autotag]Renato Moicano[/autotag] (15-4-1 MMA, 7-4-1 UFC) at UFC 271. MMA Junkie confirmed the booking with a person with knowledge of the matchup after an initial report from AG Fight.
UFC 271 takes place Feb. 12 at a location yet to be announced. The main card will air on pay-per-view following prelims expected for ESPN and ESPN+.
Hernandez got back in the win column earlier this month with a first-round knockout of short-notice replacement Mike Breeden, who missed weight for the bout. In February, he dropped a decision to Thiago Moises. Hernandez has alternated wins and losses his past seven fights.
Moicano returned to the win column in June with a second-round submission of Jai Herbert. He was coming off a knockout loss to Rafael Fiziev at UFC 256 in December 2020. Earlier in 2020, he made his lightweight debut with a 44-second submission of Damir Hadzovic in Brazil in the last UFC event before the pandemic halted things.
With the addition, the UFC 271 lineup now includes:
