The Film Room: Derek Brunson
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One of the wildest and most exciting fighters in the Ultimate Fighting Championship today will step into the Octagon for the first time in 2019 when Derek Brunson takes on Elias Theodorou in the UFC Fight Night 151 co-headliner on Saturday in Ottawa, Ontario. The North Carolinian has amassed a 2-4 record across his last six appearances and needs a win over Theodorou to remain relevant in the UFC’s middleweight division.
Brunson provides the material for this installment of The Film
Room.
Since Brunson runs forward with attacks so often, he finds himself in the clinch against the cage in nearly every fight. There, he arguably does his most proficient work. He is just as aggressive in the clinch, even allowing the opponent to improve position at times while he throws wild hooks and uppercuts -- a tactic he utilized against Anderson Silva. Brunson oddly does not rely on his grappling often, despite being an NCAA Division II All-American, but his wrestling background helps him with controlling opponents in the clinch; and if fails to get it done in the clinch, he can always level change and shoot for the takedown.
With Brunson’s aggressive style comes some major holes in his defense. Crossing your feet and sprinting forward with your head past your shoulders is unacceptable at the highest levels, yet Brunson does it in almost all of his fights. In his fight with Silva, he showed he is capable of slowing down and intelligently looking for openings. However, those performances are few and far between, and he has since gone back to his old aggressive self. Brunson would rather put on a show and lose than engage in a boring fight and win, and while the approach has worked well for him thus far, it does not appear as though it will ever lead him to a title.
Despite being an All-American wrestler out of the University of North Carolina at Pembroke, Brunson rarely relies on his grappling prowess inside the cage. When he has relied on it, he showed powerful duck-under double-leg takedowns and trips from the clinch. Moreover, Brunson will shoot for the double and work his way back up to get double underhooks before tripping or throwing the opponent to the ground. Since Brunson does some of his best striking in the clinch, opponents are not expecting the takedown, a fact that allows him to catch them off-guard. Theodorou is a decent grappler who struggles with pressure on the feet, so do not expect Brunson to shoot for takedowns even though he will hold the advantage if he does.
One of the wildest and most exciting fighters in the Ultimate Fighting Championship today will step into the Octagon for the first time in 2019 when Derek Brunson takes on Elias Theodorou in the UFC Fight Night 151 co-headliner on Saturday in Ottawa, Ontario. The North Carolinian has amassed a 2-4 record across his last six appearances and needs a win over Theodorou to remain relevant in the UFC’s middleweight division.
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Brunson is a wildman if nothing else. He is known for his
ridiculously aggressive leading attacks and willingness to take a
few punches to give one of his own. He will literally run forward
at a full sprint while throwing wild hooks with everything he has
behind them, forcing opponents to either trade or turn their backs
and run away. Although his technique is flawed, the pace he sets is
incredibly hard to stomach and lures most of his counterparts into
trading with him. No matter what you think about his style, it
brought Brunson this far, and there is no reason to turn back
now.
Since Brunson runs forward with attacks so often, he finds himself in the clinch against the cage in nearly every fight. There, he arguably does his most proficient work. He is just as aggressive in the clinch, even allowing the opponent to improve position at times while he throws wild hooks and uppercuts -- a tactic he utilized against Anderson Silva. Brunson oddly does not rely on his grappling often, despite being an NCAA Division II All-American, but his wrestling background helps him with controlling opponents in the clinch; and if fails to get it done in the clinch, he can always level change and shoot for the takedown.
With Brunson’s aggressive style comes some major holes in his defense. Crossing your feet and sprinting forward with your head past your shoulders is unacceptable at the highest levels, yet Brunson does it in almost all of his fights. In his fight with Silva, he showed he is capable of slowing down and intelligently looking for openings. However, those performances are few and far between, and he has since gone back to his old aggressive self. Brunson would rather put on a show and lose than engage in a boring fight and win, and while the approach has worked well for him thus far, it does not appear as though it will ever lead him to a title.
Despite being an All-American wrestler out of the University of North Carolina at Pembroke, Brunson rarely relies on his grappling prowess inside the cage. When he has relied on it, he showed powerful duck-under double-leg takedowns and trips from the clinch. Moreover, Brunson will shoot for the double and work his way back up to get double underhooks before tripping or throwing the opponent to the ground. Since Brunson does some of his best striking in the clinch, opponents are not expecting the takedown, a fact that allows him to catch them off-guard. Theodorou is a decent grappler who struggles with pressure on the feet, so do not expect Brunson to shoot for takedowns even though he will hold the advantage if he does.
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