Derek Brunson: ‘I don’t know why I left the UFC’
Derek Brunson: ‘I don’t know why I left the UFC’
Will CastleWed, October 28, 2026 at 7:10 AM UTC
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Derek Brunson says his decision to request his UFC release ‘wasn’t the best idea’ (Getty)
In late 2023, veteran middleweight Derek Brunson requested his UFC release. It was granted.
Three years on, Brunson is almost melancholic when reflecting on that career choice. The American, who spent 11 years competing for the UFC, was well regarded as a gatekeeper of the division. While on a two-fight losing streak at the time of his exit, those defeats were to Jared Cannonier, who fought for the title in his next fight, and Dricus Du Plessis, who won the title two fights later.
Those aren’t exactly two results that indicate a fighter is finished. But since leaving, he’s been caught in the combat wilderness, competing just twice with multiple fights falling through. Meanwhile, the UFC has increased its fighter bonuses and visibility through its lucrative broadcast deal with Paramount+, doing away with the pay-per-view model. It’s led Brunson to question why he felt the need to leave MMA’s flagship promotion in the first place.
“I don't know [why I left],” he tells The Independent. “I look back now and I'm like, maybe that wasn't the best idea, you know? It's funny, when I asked for a release, that's when all the good stuff started happening: the big bonuses, the $7billion deal with Paramount. It was probably about a year after, that's when things would've been great, right about now.
“I think in the UFC, what'd I have? Like 21 fights, 14 wins, seven losses, and I probably had about 10 finishes. So, talking about an extra $200,000 [in bonuses]. Out of those finishes, probably got $100,000 for the performance of the night bonus. So like, yeah man... that’s a lot to pass up. But it is what it is.”
Money appeared to be a driving factor in his desire for pastures new. “I was kind of stuck in no man’s land and then I found an opportunity to make money elsewhere,” he adds. “ I'm like, ‘Okay, I'm tired of fighting for this set amount. If I can get more on the market, then for sure, let me go and pursue that.’ So that was one of the reasons.”
However, those big-money opportunities have been in short supply. Brunson is now 42 and has just one MMA bout under his belt since leaving the UFC; a decision win over two-time former champion Ray Cooper III in PFL. His other outing was a grappling defeat by Rodolfo Vieira. He has also been a victim of the Global Fight League (GFL) fiasco, which continues its perpetual cycle of collapse and revival to this day. “That was a bummer,” says Brunson, who was scheduled to fight on the rebel promotion’s inaugural card in May 2025.
Yet he asserts he hasn’t lost a step in the cage.
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Brunson says money was one of the reasons who sought pastures new (Getty)
“If I compete in the UFC right now, I figure for sure I’ll be top five,” he says. “Not a question, definitely for sure top five, if not champion. You got guys like Sean Strickland [the UFC middleweight champion]. I like Sean but I’d beat Sean, for sure, seven out of 10 times.”
Strickland has been at the centre of a contract dispute with the UFC and has threatened to vacate his title and leave the company in pursuit of a bigger payday in the boxing world, vying for a fight against Jake Paul. The outspoken American signed a six-fight deal before reclaiming the belt from Khamzat Chimaev in May; he’s now stuck on the same terms he had as a contender. But Brunson feels there are worse situations to be in.
“It’s different for him,” he says. “The money that he’s getting paid versus what I was getting paid are two different things. Whenever Sean Strickland got the [first] title fight [in September 2023], I was ranked higher than him. So that's another thing too. There’s definitely like some favouritism and guys get a little better opportunity than others.”
Brunson has pivoted to bare-knuckle boxing – despite his wrestling base – in order to secure a return to action and has a debut bout for Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC), the promotion part-owned by Conor McGregor, in the calendar. It’s maybe why he stops himself short of saying he wishes he was back in the UFC.
“I wish I was still... I don’t wish, I’m just glad that I have the opportunity to compete right now... but I know if I was in the thick of things for the UFC, I’d definitely be in our top five right now.”
Brunson could face Darren Till (right) in BKFC, having choked him out in their UFC clash (Getty)
In BKFC, Brunson has the opportunity to reignite some old rivalries from his UFC days. The company’s top guy is Liverpudlian Darren Till, whom he choked out in the Octagon in 2021 – the culmination of a five-fight win streak during his formidable “Blonde Brunson” era. BKFC won’t be the first to try and book a rematch between the pair, though; Misfits Boxing tried earlier this year, only for their efforts to be scuppered.
“It’s funny because me and Darren Till was gonna box in a boxing match – this was probably about six to eight months ago – and it fell through because of the war in the Middle East,” Brunson reveals. “We were signed to do a boxing match, so for sure [there’s] potential for that rematch. I feel like he definitely wants to get his face back.”
Till beat 49-year-old specimen Yoel Romero, another former opponent of Brunson, in the biggest bout in BKFC history in September. Unlike with Till, the onus for revenge is on Brunson, who was knocked out by Romero in their UFC clash 12 years ago. And as he approaches the end of his career, Brunson is ready to scratch any itch he can.
“The Yoel fight definitely interests me also,” he says. “There’s no fight in BKFC that doesn’t interest me. I’m definitely here to maximise. I got about a year-and-a-half, two years left to compete. And I feel like, ‘Hey, I want to compete, so any fight makes sense to me... that makes sense to them.”
Source: “AOL Sports”
