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LAS VEGAS – Derek Brunson cannot agree with the analysis of Kevin Holland’s Dana White ‘mental depression’ in the UFC on 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 victory over Holland (21-6 MMA, 7-3 UFC) heading the Saturday’s middleweights at UFC Apex in Las Vegas, the UFC president expressed confusion over the loser’s performance and the caged garbage speech.
White said he believed Holland had broken down mentally due to the magnitude of the moment, and that the result was an unusual level of conversation and antics, even for “Big Mouth.”
Brunson said he disagreed, however. Instead, he highlights his huge advantage in wrestling as a difference maker in the Octagon.
“He just couldn’t stop the pullout,” Brunson told reporters, including MMA Junkie, after the UFC fight on ESPN 21. “Funny he keeps giving me his hips, you know? He’s the kind of guy who’s very explosive to love to run, but he’s long to get away with sometimes. He continued to present his hips and he was there for the teardown. Dana White is one of those guys. He will be angry with you. I’ll come out in the next fight and knock a guy out and he’ll be happy again. So everything is fine.
Brunson said nothing about the fight with Holland really surprised him. But he doesn’t think it was a wise decision. He knew his opponent would be vocal to some extent, and although it was originally his plan to respond, he changed course once he saw how the fight was going.
“Come on, man: you gotta do better than that,” Brunson said. “It was pretty stupid. Work to get up from positions. You talk all the time. I was going to answer him during the fight, but I was like, ‘This guy is stupid. He’s stupid. He’s just lying here to talk and not improve his position, so I’m just going to let him. I didn’t want to break his rhythm. Let him continue to do his thing.
“I think he will learn from it. He needs to be a little more focused on the fight. He was in good shape, I was in good shape. He wanted to entertain between turns, 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 kick him and get him out.
Brunson’s four-game winning streak in the UFC now places him tied with Marvin Vettori for second place among active middleweight behind champion Israel Adesanya (nine). He said he’s looking for a big fight next, potentially with former title challenger Paulo Costa.
The veteran, who was the underdog of betting in Holland, said he wished he could make the victory more emphatic, but he’s happy to raise his hand against a name that had a lot of hype around him.
“To go out there and get the win just shut it up feels good,” Brunson said. “I was a little upset that I didn’t get the finish. I thought my pitch would do it. He was pretty cunning down there, holding my hands, holding my wrists and stuff like that. We have the victory. Next.
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