LAS VEGAS – Derek Brunson can’t agree with Dana White’s “mental breakdown” analysis of Kevin Holland in the UFC at ESPN 21 main event.
After Brunson (22-7 MMA, 13-5 UFC) extended his winning streak to four consecutive fights, with a unanimous decision won over the Netherlands (21-6 MMA, 7-3 UFC) in Saturday’s table. from UFC Apex in Las Vegas, the UFC president expressed his confusion about the performance of the loser and the discussions in the basket.
White said he thought the Netherlands was mentally broken by the magnitude of the moment, and the result was a level of speech and deception that was uncharacteristic, even for “Big Mouth.”
But Brunson said he disagreed. Instead, he points to his huge advantage in fighting as a factor of difference in the octagon.
“He just couldn’t stop the elimination,” Brunson told reporters, including MMA Junkie, after the UFC fight on ESPN 21. “It’s funny that he gave me my hips, you know?” He’s the kind of guy who’s very explosive about liking to run, but it’s a long time to get away sometimes. He continued to show his hips and was there for the demolition. Dana White is one of those guys. He will be mad at you. I’ll go out in the next fight and beat a guy and he’ll be happy again. So everything is fine. ”
Brunson did not say that anything about the fight with the Netherlands really surprised him. But he doesn’t think it was a wise move. He knew that his opponent would be vocal to some extent, and although it was initially his plan to respond, he changed course after seeing the fight unfold.
“Come on, man: you have to do better than that,” Brunson said. “It simply came to our notice then. Work to get up. You talk all the time. I was going to talk to him during the fight, but I say to myself, “This guy is stupid. He’s stupid. He’s just sitting here talking and not improving his position, so I’ll leave him. I didn’t want to break his rhythm. Let him continue his work.
“I think he will learn from this. He needs to be a little more focused on fighting. He was fit, I was fit. He wanted to have fun between rounds, but this is the fighting game. It’s good to have fun, but you should probably be a little more focused on the fight because I was looking for the moments to really put some good fists in it and get it out there. ”
Brunson’s second victory in the UFC fight now tied him with Marvin Vettori for the second longest win in the midst of active weights behind champion Israel Adesanya (new). He said he would look for a big fight in the future, potentially with former title challenger Paulo Costa.
The veteran, who was the one who bet on the one who entered the Netherlands, said he wished he could have made the victory more emphatic, but is happy to raise his hand against a name that had a lot of hype around him.
“To get out there and win, close it, it feels good,” Brunson said. “I was a little upset that I didn’t get to the end. I thought the earth and my pound would do it. He was pretty cunning on the bottom, holding my hands, holding my wrists and stuff like that. I got the victory. On the next. ”