Derek Brunson explains why he split with UFC, reveals what Dana White said to him in call afterward

23/11/2023 18:00

Derek Brunson holds no ill will towards the UFC after spending nearly 11 years with the promotion but he knew it was time to move on.

The 39-year-old veteran secured his release before inking a new multi-fight deal with PFL where he'll make his debut during the season finale card this Friday. While he was originally scheduled to clash with Roman Dolidze this month, Brunson ultimately opted to cut ties with the UFC and look for a fresh start elsewhere.

"I think it was at the time that we both went our separate ways," Brunson told MMA Fighting. "I had a good run there but I guess where I'm at in my career, at my age, some of the things that go on there didn't make sense for me.

"It was just tough to get up for these fights, for all these top guys. It was just perfect time for both of us to move on."

Brunson was near title contention on a couple of different occasions while remaining a top 10 middleweight for nearly his entire career with the UFC. Most recently, he put together an impressive five-fight win streak that was capped off with a submission win over one-time title challenger Darren Till. He currently sits at No. 12 in the MMA Fighting Global Rankings.

The victory didn't get him a title shot, however, but instead Brunson had to go up against Jared Cannonier — a fight he ended up losing by second-round knockout. The frustration that he got so close but still didn't receive an opportunity to compete for UFC gold eventually made him feel like he was treading water.

"I think I had pretty good value where I was at and I felt I deserved and could get more out of what I was doing in my last little run," Brunson explained. "I wanted to get up for these fights, I wanted to be excited. It was different being on five fight winning streaks, beating a guy, kind of being told, kind of being insinuated 'you're next if you win' and then when you win, you get there and it's like 'fight another title eliminator.' It was tough to get up for these fights.

"Getting up for these title eliminators when you've been in the game for a long time, just wasn't motivating. That might have been some of the reason why I didn't look so good in these past few fights that I was dominating."

In the end, the UFC released Brunson from his contract and days later he signed with PFL.

Despite a mutual agreement to part ways, Brunson says he actually received a call from Dana White after the UFC CEO made comments about his release during a press conference.

"Somebody asked Dana [White] something about me at the last card and Dana called me right after," Brunson revealed. "He's like 'I didn't hear what they said, it could have come across as weird but I wanted to let you know I wasn't trying to slight you or anything like that.' It was no animosity, no ill will.

"I put in some hard work in the UFC. I don't think what I've done can be duplicated. The UFC is a lot different from when I first joined. Only the baddest guys fought in the UFC. Now the UFC, they're signing a lot of guys so they can build more guys up. It's just bigger so they've got a lot more guys."

Once his release was signed, sealed and delivered, Brunson had options available to him right away including a potential deal with BKFC but he opted to sign with PFL instead. He'll make his debut on Nov. 24 when he faces two-time PFL welterweight champion Ray Cooper III in a middleweight bout before eventually transitioning to light heavyweight to compete in the season long tournament in 2024.

Brunson admits that the PFL removing the politics from their matchmaking where winning is all that really matters made all the difference when he was looking for a new promotional home.

"I needed a change, a switch," Brunson said. "Just being in PFL, it's a new opportunity, a new goal. I don't have to lobby for anything. I just have go out there and win fights. That's my main focus right now.

"I was ranked top 10 by all major sites and I was ranked No. 7 or 8 in the UFC rankings so I definitely have a lot of value. So finding a different place wasn't going to be an issue. I was even thinking about bare-knuckle. I was talking with those guys and we were close to striking a deal even before PFL came along. I was just looking for a new adventure, a new motivation. I enjoy competing. It's not about the money for me. It's about competing. I love evolving and working on things and trying to be a better version of myself."