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Derek Brunson has responded to the steroid allegations made about him recently.
The former UFC middleweight made his PFL debut this past weekend against Ray Cooper III. Brunson secured an impressive victory in his first fight under the PFL banner. However, there were some serious allegations made by some fans ahead of his fight.
Derek Brunson seemed to be in a much better physique going into his PFL debut than he did in any of his last few UFC fights, and many suggested that he was on steroids or PEDs. Responding to the same on Twitter, Brunson made it clear that he has never taken any steroids or PEDs in his life.
Revealing that the motivation was different for him going into his fight against Ray Cooper III, he posted:
"PFL vs UFC physique. I saw the debates online Steroid / PEDs or natural. Answer: never took any steroids or peds ever. Attention to details, no sodas, no chips, no candy, 10-15 miles of running for 10-12 weeks. The motivation was different !"
Take a look at his tweet below:
Derek Brunson claims he would have finished Ray Cooper III if not for PFL's rule system
While Ray Cooper III started the fight strongly, Derek Brunson eventually found his feet and dominated the remainder of the contest. Ultimately, he came away with a unanimous decision victory, his first win since 2021.
Brunson believes that he would have secured a stoppage victory if there had been a slight change in PFL's rule system. According to the promotion's rules, a fighter cannot use his elbows to strike. Speaking about the same during the post-fight interview, the former UFC fighter recalled having the perfect opportunity to use his elbows and potentially stop his counterpart. He said:
"It's crazy, I had to like think, think, think, to not elbow him and he was like tying up my arms and when you're tying up my arms I can just drop an elbow. So yeah, if you were able to elbow there, I'm finishing the fight."
Catch his comments in the clip below:
