Derek Brunson says he isn’t going to lose to anything less than a lucky shot at UFC 271.
UFC 271 is set for Saturday night, and one of the most anticipated middleweight fights of the year is slated between Derek Brunson and Jared Cannonier.
Brunson is coming into this fight with Cannonier riding high on confidence. He believes he has what it takes to get the victory and set his sights on a title shot. In the leadup to the fight, Brunson spoke to the media during fight week and laid out the one scenario that he could see losing to Cannonier.
“Jared is a guy who’s opportunistic,” Brunson said. “He stings in there. But I don’t really put him as really great at any one thing. He’s just a solid, tough guy… I feel I matchup really well. He’s gotta come out and fight the perfect fight. He’s gotta like, have a little luck on his side, and catch me. Skill for skill, it’s not even close.”
Brunson and Cannonier were originally set to face off at UFC 270 last month, but the fight was pushed back. Brunson expressed that he felt the reasoning behind the move was to allow himself to stand in as a potential backup to the title fight. He believes that he has the skills right now to fight champion Israel Adesanya for the title; he just has to get past Cannonier.
Although Brunson is not giving Cannonier much of a chance to beat him, Cannonier is one of the best in the division. He is coming off a very impressive win over Kelvin Gastelum in the summer and is ranked in the #3 spot.
Brunson has seemed unstoppable in his last five outings. He may be correct in guessing that the winner of this bout will go on to face the champion next, whoever that might be after Saturday night. Brunson will be trying his best to make sure that he will be the next title challenger since his fighting days may be numbered.
Who do you have winning at UFC 271, Derek Brunson or Jared Cannonier?
