Derek Brunson was planning to retire from MMA with his brains intact, but it appears the former UFC middleweight contender is not ready to hang up the gloves just yet. In fact, the 39 year-old Brunson recently put pen to paper for a deal with PFL and could find himself back inside the cage before the end of the year.
That’s according to his longtime manager, Ali Abdelaziz.
“Derek Brunson, he signed with PFL, he’s a PFL fighter,” Abdelaziz told The Schmo. “He’s gonna fight before the end of the year. He did a lot for the UFC. UFC did a lot for him. He had a great career, crazy schedule, fought (Robert) Whittaker, fought (Israel) Adesanya, fought Kevin Holland, fought all those guys, Darren Till. Now he’s looking to make his run at the light heavyweight title for PFL.”
Brunson was hastily released by UFC despite an active booking.
After racking up five straight wins under the UFC banner, Brunson (23-9) suffered back-to-back knockout losses to top contenders Jared Cannonier and Dricus Du Plessis. He was expected to make his return against Roman Dolidze at UFC 295 in New York; however, the promotion severed ties with Brunson and sent him packing with no explanation.
A date for his PFL debut has yet to be established.