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UFC middleweight contender Derek Brunson has an explanation as to why he isn’t willing to face off against former titleholder Chris Weidman.
On an episode of Submission Radio, Weidman, the number nine-ranked middleweight contender, shared that Brunson reportedly turned down a fight with him.
“Actually, right before I told [the UFC] I want to fight [Khamzat] Chimaev, they had offered me Brunson for mid-January, which is when I told them that I’ll be ready, and I said yes,” Weidman said. “And the UFC said ‘Alright, it’s not a done deal, we’ve got to talk to Brunson,’ and from what I’ve heard, he turned that fight down, he didn’t want to fight me.”
Weidman added that he feels Brunson is looking for higher-ranked opponent.
“Supposedly, I don’t think he thinks I’m worthy of his presence at this point, he’s trying to fight guys higher in the rankings, which is crazy to me,”
“I don’t think I’ve been calling him out, I’m not being disrespectful, I just think it would be a good fight to bring both of us up. He’s on a three-fight win streak, so I guess he’s feeling like he deserved more, but if you look at the three guys he’s fought, it’s nothing crazy,” Weidman continued.
Derek Brunson, currently the number seven-ranked middleweight contender, does believes that he deserves a higher-ranked opponent than Weidman, but clarified that he didn’t turn any fight down.
Taking to Twitter, Brunson explained his side of the story and shared that back in 2017, they were in a similar position, but the roles were reversed.
"Now, @chrisweidman you know damn well I didn’t turn down a fight against you. I asked for someone rnked well above you which I deserve. I didn’t forget 2017, when you were ranked ahead of me and wouldn’t sign the contract,” Brunson wrote, along with screenshots of his tweets to Weidman.
It looks like Derek Brunson was just serving Weidman up some payback for his past actions.
Derek Brunson has Paulo Costa, Darren Till in his crosshairs
While Derek Brunson may not be interested in a Chris Weidman fight at the moment, he is looking to take on higher-ranked opponents such as former title contenders Paulo Costa and Darren Till.
Derek Brunson, who’s on a three-fight winning streak since losing to Israel Adesanya back in 2018, has been calling Till and Costa out on social media, relentlessly.
Costa, who’s coming off a loss to Adesanya last September, is currently the number two-ranked contender in the middleweight division.
Till, meanwhile, is coming off a decision loss to Robert Whittaker last July.
