LAS VEGAS – Derek Brunson can’t agree with Dana White’s “mental breakdown” analysis of Kevin Hollandin the UFC on ESPN 21 main event.
After Brunson (22-7 MMA, 13-5 UFC) extended his winning streak to four consecutive fights with a unanimous decision win over Holland (21-6 MMA, 7-3 UFC) in Saturday’s middleweight headliner at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, the UFC president expressed confusion over the loser’s performance and in-cage trash talk.
White said he thought Holland broke mentally due to the magnitude of the moment, and the result was a level of talking and antics that were uncharacteristic, even for “Big Mouth.”
Brunson said he doesn’t agree, though. Instead, he points to his huge advantage in wrestling as the difference-maker in the octagon.
“He just couldn’t stop the takedown,” Brunson told reporters, including MMA Junkie, post-fight at UFC On ESPN 21. “It’s funny he kept giving me his hips, you know? He’s the kind of guy who is very explosive to like run in, but he’s long so he can get away with it at times. He kept presenting his hips and he was there for the taking down. Dana White’s one of those guys. He’ll be upset with you. I’ll come out the next fight and knock a guy out and he’ll be happy again. So, it’s all good.”
Brunson said nothing about the fight with Holland really surprised him. But he doesn’t think it was a wise move. 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 unfolding.
“Come on, man: You’ve got to do better than that,” Brunson said. “That was pretty stupid. Work to get up out of positions. You’re talking the whole time. I was going to talk back to him during the fight, but I’m like, ‘This guy’s stupid. He’s stupid. He’s just laying here talking and not improving position, so I’ll just let him.’ I didn’t want to want to break his rhythm. Just let him keep doing his thing.
“I think he’ll learn from this. He’s got to be a little bit more focused on the fight. He was in shape, I was in shape. He wanted to entertain between rounds, but this is the fight game. It’s good to have fun, but you should probably be a little bit more focused on the fight because I was looking for my moments to really put some good punches on him and get him out there.”
Brunson’s four-fight UFC winning streak now has him tied with Marvin Vettori for second longest among active middleweights 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 betting underdog to Holland coming in, said he wishes he could’ve made the victory more emphatic, but he’s pleased to get his hand raised against a name who had a lot of hype around him coming in.
“To go out there and get the win, shut him up, it feels good,” Brunson said. “I was a little upset that I didn’t get the finish. I thought my ground-and-pound would get it done. He was pretty crafty on bottom, holding my hands, holding my wrists and stuff like that. We got the win. Onto the next.”
