Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC
Derek Brunson is not entirely buying into the idea that his looping punches are a problem.
Derek Brunson has been criticized in the past for his wild swings, but he wants to remind people just how much knockout power he has.
Brunson (19-7) fights Ian Heinisch (13-1) at UFC 241 on Saturday, Aug. 17. Heinisch has promised to exploit Brunson’s emotional looping punches. Brunson laughed off the notion and promised to show a balance between composure and pressure. “It’s just about keeping your composure, practicing it and training it,” he exclusively told MMA Mania. “But here’s the thing, me swinging and going crazy is not good for my opponent either. That’s only failed me a few times, but it got me a lot of knockouts so that’s not really a bad strategy.”
The number eight ranked UFC middleweight was not particularly impressed with Heinisch’s last victory over Antonio Carlos Jr. In Brunson’s mind, “Shoeface” beat himself. “He has to be a little more durable and a little more tough,” Brunson critiqued Carlos Jr. “Whereas I make mistakes in some fights — I try to go too heavy with the wrestling or heavy with the strikes — you need to find that balance. Antonio Carlos needs to find the balance in his game with his grappling. He’s one of the best grapplers in the whole MMA community and I think he relies on it too much.”
Brunson also touched on the sudden release of his last opponent, Elias Theodorou. “When something like that happens, it’s not just off one performance. There was other stuff, you know? We see it all the time, but it just came at an unfortunate time,” he said. “There was some other underlying issues that he had with the UFC, I’m sure. Who knows? It is what it is. Hey, I guess you gotta have better relationships with the people you work for.”
UFC 241 takes place on Saturday, Aug. 17 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Cali. The event is headlined by a heavyweight title rematch between Daniel Cormier and Stipe Miocic. The co-main event welcomes Nate Diaz back to the welterweight division against Anthony Pettis.