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Derek Brunson believes he would've beaten reigning UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya if his training camp hadn't been interrupted by Hurricane Florence.
In a recent interview with MMA Fighting, Brunson claimed the lack of training was the biggest factor in his UFC 230 knockout loss to Adesanya. The No.4-ranked UFC middleweight took full responsibility for not training as hard as he would've wanted, but added that the effects of the hurricane were partly to blame, too. Derek Brunson said:
"That was just on me in terms of my preparation. You know, I had a hurricane I was dealing with. I didn't train for two weeks. That was the first phase of where I got really strong and I stopped lifting weights for like two years. That was a trial and error period in my career."
Hurricane Florence was a powerful and long-reigning hurricane that caused extensive damage in Derek Brunson's home state of North Carolina in September 2018. Brunson said the hurricane took some of his most important belongings.
Watch Derek Brunson talk about a potential rematch with Israel Adesanya:
Derek Brunson likes his chances against Israel Adesanya in a rematch
Brunson collected his fifth consecutive victory after submitting Darren Till in the main event of UFC Fight Night 191 earlier this month. The win solidified his status as a legitimate title contender and he wasted no time calling out Israel Adesanya.
Brunson claimed that after reflecting upon his 2018 loss to 'The Last Stylebender,' he's more confident about his chances in a potential rematch. Brunson said:
"When I was fighting Izzy... I got to my positions I just wasn't able to finish. So it was like a combination of a lot of things which are no excuses. But now we look back, we're like, 'Oh, okay! So that's why we didn't react so properly.' So like, in a rematch, we're very confident about what we can do and know the threat."
Right now, though, all signs point to top-ranked middleweight contender Robert Whittaker as the next challenger for Israel Adesanya's crown. A championship rematch between Adesanya and Whittaker is expected to take place later this year or in early 2022.
