This weekend at UFC 271, there is a pivotal matchup on the main card in the middleweight division. On the main card, we will see a title eliminator between Derek Brunson (23-7) and Jared Cannonier (14-5). It’s been fairly clear that the winner of this fight will likely get the next shot at the UFC middleweight title.
While this storyline alone would be enough to build up the fight, today we learned of another interesting wrinkle to it. Derek Brunson appeared at the UFC 271 media day and he talked about his career in mixed martial arts.
The last time Brunson lost a fight was at UFC 230 to the current middleweight champion Israel Adesanya. Since that moment, Brunson has been perfect. He’s also played the role of a “Gate-Keeper” in the middleweight division.
Brunson has won five fights in a row to get this fight with Jared Cannonier. If he wins this fight, it will be impossible to deny him a title shot. The way things are lining up, it’s looking like the perfect ending of Brunson’s UFC career according to him.
.@DerekBrunson will retire from MMA after 2?? more fights.
"Beating Cannonier, beating Izzy and then riding out."#UFC271 | Full interview: https://t.co/mc1407z4G1 pic.twitter.com/10AlmcGlRV
— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) February 9, 2022
Two More UFC Fights
At media day today, Brunson announced that win, lose, or draw, he only has two fights left in his career. He admitted that his dream scenario would be to beat Cannonier at UFC 271 which would setup him fighting Israel Adesanya for the middleweight title.
Adesanya headlines UFC 271 when he takes on Robert Whittaker, another man who has defeated Brunson in the past. Brunson is looking to win on Saturday then get revenge and cash in on UFC gold against either Adesanya or Whittaker.
However, Brunson made it clear that if his dream scenario plays out, he will walk away from the sport on top. He cited that he wants to spend more time with his family and he would want to walk away from the UFC with his health.
With this new two-fight career deadline, UFC 271 just became even more intriguing for Brunson. If Cannonier wins on Saturday, it could be the last time we see Brunson. However, if Brunson wins, it sets him up for a title fight in his retirement fight.