Derek Brunson
Synopsis
Derek T. Brunson is an American mixed martial artist who currently fights in UFC middleweight division.
He began his UFC career replacing an injured player, Karlos Vemola, against Chris Leben on 29 December 2012.
Early life and education
Derek Brunson was born on 4th Jan 1984, in Wilmington, North Carolina, United States. He is of Afro-American ethnicity and holds American nationality. In his early days, he was a great Cheerleader and also wrestled at John T. Hoggard High School under coach, Dan Willis.
He received scholarships for both Cheerleading and Wrestling but decided to Wrestle at College. He became 3-time Divison II All-American wrestler from the University of North Carolina at Pembroke.
After he graduated from college, Brunson enrolled in mixed martial arts training at Renzo Gracie Jiu-Jitsu and Jackson's MMA.
Career
MMA Career
Derek Brunson made his debut in MMA in May 2010 against John Bryant where he achieved a rear naked choke in less than a minute. Brunson won the following 5 fights with none of them have made it past 2:30 of the first round.
Strikeforce
On 24 June 2011, Derek Brunson made his Strikeforce debut at Strikeforce Challengers: Fodor vs. Terry against undefeated Jeremy Hamilton. Brunson won the fight by unanimous decision.
On 18 November 2011, Brunson had his fight at Strikeforce Challengers: Britt vs. Sayers against Nate James. On 3rd March, he was scheduled to fight against Ronaldo Souza, at Strikeforce: Tate vs. Rousey.
However, Brunson's fight license was denied by the Ohio State Athletic Commission, based on the eye exam he had submitted. Derek fought with eye contacts in his every bout whereas Ohio has a rule against this situation.
Brunson instantly scheduled a Lasik procedure and was estimated to take rest for six weeks. He later fought against Souza on 18 August 2012, at Strikeforce: Kaufman vs Rousey and lost the fight by knockout at 41 of the 1st round.
The Ultimate Fighter
Derek Brunson was selected to fight in The Ultimate Fighter 17, unfortunately, on the first day of filming, he was removed out from the competition because of Showtime having him still on the contract.
Ultimate Fighting Championship
Derek Brunson made his UFC debut by replacing an injured Karlos Vemola against Chris Leben on 29 December 2012, at UFC 155. Besides being a late replacement and heavy underdog, he used his superior wrestling to defeat Leben via unanimous decision.
On 6th November 2013, Bruston was scheduled to fight against Antonio Braga Neto at UFC Fight Night 31. However, he was pulled out of the bout by Neto, with an injury, later was replaced by Brian Houston. Brunson gained impressive victory with a head kick on Houston and then a rear-naked choke submission.
On 15 Feb 2014, UFC announced that Derek Brunson has signed a four-fight contract with them. On 2nd August 2014, he was scheduled to face Lorenz Larkin at UFC 176. After the cancellation of UFC 176, Brunson/Larkin was again scheduled and took place on 30 August 2014 during UFC 177. Brunson took the match via unanimous decision.
After that, Brunson faced various fighters including, Ed Herman, Krzysztof Jotko, Sam Alvey, Roan Carneiro and many others.
On 11 Feb 2017, during UFC Fight Night 110, Brunson faced Dan Kelly and won the fight via knockout in the first round after dropping his opponent with a straight left and finishing him with a barrage of ground and pound.
On 28 October 2017, Derek Brunson faced Lyoto Machida, at UFC Fight Night 119. He gained victory by knockout in the first round. This victory also earned him a performance of the Night bonus award.
On 27 January 2018, Derek Brunson and Ronaldo Souza are expected to have a rematch at UFC on Fox 27.
Personal life
Derek Brunson is a married man. However, details regarding his wife is still a secret. Derek has two daughters of ten and eleven years old. Brunson might want to keep his personal details secret.
Net worth
Derek Brunson earns a heavy amount of money from his career as a UFC fighter. As he has won numerous matches and with over ten years of fighting in UFC, he makes $812,000 annually.
When Brunson joined UFC for the first time he received $45,000 in total, as $10000 was sponsored by Reebok and $35,000 from the show. He received his highest salary of $920,500 in 2015, following by $708,077 in 2014.
He might have a range of expensive cars and huge amount from his yearly earnings and contracts, which are still under review.
After his victory in the first two rounds, Derek Brunson was dropped by a hook and was defeated via technical knockout due to elbows on the ground in round 3.