LAS VEGAS – Derek Brunson disagrees with Dana White’s “mental breakdown” analysis of Kevin Holland on UFC at the ESPN 21 main event.
After Brunson (22-7 MMA, 13-5 UFC) extended his winning streak to four consecutive fights with a unanimous decision win over the Netherlands (21-6 MMA, 7-3 UFC) in the middleweight headliner on Saturday at UFC Apex in Las Vegas, the UFC president expressed confusion about the loser’s performance and small talk in the cage.
White said he thought Holland broke down mentally due to the magnitude of the moment, and the result was a level of conversation and antics that were atypical, even for “Big Mouth”.
Brunson said he did not agree, however. Instead, he points to his enormous advantage in wrestling as the differentiator in the octagon.
“He just couldn’t stop the fall,” Brunson told reporters, including MMA Junkie, UFC post-fight on ESPN 21. “It’s funny that he’s giving me his hips, you know? He’s the type of guy who is too explosive to enjoy running, but he has a lot of time to get away with it sometimes. He continued to show his hips and he was there for the takedown. Dana White is one of those guys. He will be upset with you. I’m going to go out in the next fight and knock out a guy and he’ll be happy again. So, everything is fine. “
Brunson said nothing about the fight with the Netherlands really surprised him. But he doesn’t think it was a smart move. He knew that his opponent would be vocal to some extent, and although it was originally his plan to respond, he changed course as soon as he saw how the fight was unfolding.
“Come on, man: you have to do better than that,” said Brunson. “That was really stupid. Work to get up from the positions. You are talking all the time. I was going to talk to him during the fight, but I was like, ‘This guy is stupid. He’s stupid. He’s just lying here talking and not improving his position, so I’m going to leave him. ‘I didn’t want to break your pace. Just let him keep doing his thing.
“I think he will learn from this. He has to be a little more focused on the fight. He was in shape, I was in shape. He wanted to entertain 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 my moments to really punch him and get him out there. “
Brunson’s four-game winning streak in the UFC now tied him with Marvin Vettori for the second longest active middleweight, behind champion Israel Adesanya (nine). He said he is looking for a big fight in the next one, potentially with former title challenger Paulo Costa.
The veteran, who was the gambling underdog in the Netherlands, said he would have liked to make the victory more emphatic, but is pleased to have his hand raised against a name he was very excited about.
“To go there and get the victory, shut up, it’s a good feeling,” said Brunson. “I was a little upset because I didn’t get the submission. I thought my ground and pound would do the job. He was very cunning at the bottom, holding my hands, holding my wrists and things like that. We have the victory. For the next. “