Derek Brunson may have been finished by Robert Whittaker, but he believes he can stop the interim Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) middleweight title holder.
Back in Nov. 2016, Brunson was finished in the first round by Whittaker via TKO. “The Reaper” went on to defeat Yoel Romero to capture interim gold. Brunson knows he was too aggressive in the fight and has since toned things down.
Speaking to MMAFighting.com, “The Law” said Whittaker knows he can beat him:
“I think the one fight that cost me the most was the Whittaker (fight) when I was super aggressive, but you look at that fight, I had him rocked the whole time. I’m sure he knows I could put him away also, but you don’t want to put yourself in those 50-50 positions. Let your skills be on show. I still wanna keep my aggressive ways and let my skills be on display.”
Brunson isn’t bothered by the fact that Whittaker went on to become a champion.
“It doesn’t piss me off, no disrespect to Whittaker, I know I can beat him. I was putting it on him, you know? I had him against the cage and I hurt him. He was very exhausted. He was just able to find the spot. He actually turned and ran a couple of times to get away. He was smart.”
Tonight (Oct. 28), Brunson will take on Lyoto Machida in the main event of UFC Fight Night 119.
