Derek Brunson Wants UFC Middleweight Title Shot After Beating Darren Till

Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC

Derek Brunson has his sights set on Israel Adesanya’s UFC middleweight championship belt after he defeated Darren Till via third-round submission (rear-naked choke) at UFC Fight Night 191 in Las Vegas on Saturday.

While nothing is official yet, Adesanya’s title defense against No. 1 contender Robert Whittaker would likely occur sometime in 2022. Regardless of when the fight happens, Brunson is paying attention.

He notably said the following, per ESPN’s Marc Raimondi:

“Brunson called out Adesanya afterward, saying he wants to ‘rewrite that fight’ in a rematch after he suffered a first-round knockout loss in 2018. Brunson said he’d be willing to wait for the winner of Adesanya vs. Whittaker before fighting again, as he prepares ‘for this really last, long title push I’m trying to make.'”

As Raimondi noted, Brunson now joins Jared Cannonier as a top contender in the middleweight class. Brunson entered the night ranked as the No. 5 contender on the middleweight list. Till was No. 7.

Adesanya has beaten the Nos. 1, 2 and 4 contenders (Whittaker, Paulo Costa and Marvin Vettori). He has never faced Cannonier, the No. 3 contender.

However, Cannonier may be out for up to six months (February 2022) because of a medical suspension following his UFC on Vegas 34 win over Kelvin Gastelum in August.

“Cannonier must have right foot X-ray,” the medical suspension notice reads. “If positive, must have orthopedic doctor clearance or no contest until 02/18/22.”

As for Brunson, Adesanya doesn’t appear too concerned about what he had to say Saturday.