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Derek Brunson has made a career out of derailing hype trains, and he's now setting his sights on the biggest hype train in his division: UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya.
Brunson recently caught up with MMA Junkie and reiterated that he wants a championship matchup against Adesanya for his next fight. Brunson said:
"Izzy has a lot of hype, a lot of momentum so, you know, I'd like to cool that."
According to the number four-ranked UFC middleweight, his main motivation is to compete with the best. Still, he would also like to give Adesanya a taste of his own medicine by embarrassing him.
"It's all purely competitive. You know, I wanna make him eat his words. I wanna give him a nickname that's gonna stick with him also, you know what I mean? I just know this could be one of the biggest fights in UFC middleweight history. I think we get it done, I think the action is gonna be there. I'm gonna be up for that fight. You know, I'll put in a great training camp, the buildup will be great, so yeah, I think it has a lot of potential."
Watch Derek Brunson talk about a potential matchup against Israel Adesanya:
Adesanya, of course, is one of the UFC's biggest trolls on top of being one of the most dominant fighters on the roster. 'The Last Stylebender' has made it a habit to poke fun at his rivals on social media, including Brunson, whom he recently called a "bum."
What happened when Israel Adesanya and Derek Brunson fought for the first time?
Israel Adesanya and Derek Brunson first met at UFC 230 back in November 2018. Though many believed Brunson's wrestling advantage would present problems for Adesanya, that turned out not to be the case as the Kiwi fighter made quick work of him.
Brunson attempted to take Adesanya to the ground multiple times, but to no avail, as 'The Last Stylebender' displayed tremendous defense. With over 30 seconds left in the first round, Adesanya caught Brunson with a lightning-quick headkick, followed up with a couple of knee strikes to the face, and finished him off with a huge right hand.
Since then, Israel Adesanya has captured the UFC middleweight title while Derek Brunson has racked up five straight victories, including a submission win over Darren Till at the recently concluded UFC Fight Night 191.
