Derek Brunson Eager For Israel Adesanya Rematch: “I Want To Make Him Eat His Words”

UFC middleweight contender Derek Brunson is chomping at the bit to get a rematch with current UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya.

Brunson spoke with MMA Junkie’s Mike Bohn after his most recent victory over Darren Till in the main event bout of UFC Vegas 36. Brunson submitted Till in the third-round via a rear-naked choke to extend his current winning streak to five and put himself in the discussion for the next title shot at 185-pounds. The last man to beat Brunson was Adesanya, he finished the Wilmington, North Carolina native via a second-round TKO at UFC 230 in November 2018. Brunson said the following about his desires to get that win back from Adesanya, hopefully in the champion’s own backyard. 

“I was just thinking how bad I want that fight, how I know I can get the job done,” Brunson said. “Shock everybody, surprise everybody. I’m so good at going in somebody’s backyard and just silencing the crowd. I’m not an A-hole with it, but I’m going to go enjoy the moment. That’s like the perfect scenario is fight Izzy in his backyard, avenge the loss, take the title for all the marbles. That would be lit. It’s all purely competitive. I want to make him eat his words. I want to give him a nickname that’s going to stick with him also. I think this could be one of the biggest fights in UFC middleweight history. I think the action is going to be there. I’m going to be up for that fight. I’ll put in a great training camp, the buildup will be great. I think it has a lot of potential. I would definitely like to fight Izzy again. I just know that fight – it left a sour taste in my mouth. It wasn’t a good representation of myself. Izzy has a lot of hype, a lot of momentum. So I would like to cool that.”

Fightful has all of your MMA needs covered. Follow us on Twitter for updates, and subscribe to our YouTube channel for exclusive interviews, lists, news updates, and predictions.