When Derek Brunson signed with the UFC in 2012 after a knockout loss to Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza in Strikeforce, most were unsure what to expect out of him.
Since that time, though, Brunson has won six of seven and finds himself right on the cusp of moving into title contention. He faces Uriah Hall Saturday night in the co-main event of UFC Fight Night 94 on FOX Sports 1.
A pro since 2010, the former three-time NCAA Div. II wrestling All-American at North Carolina-Pembroke, Brunson (16-3) has always tried to keep emotions out of his fights. That’s not the case with Hall, a former runner-up on The Ultimate Fighter.
“(This fight) is personal; I really don’t like him,” Brunson said. “Just him running his mouth, being arrogant, being cocky – I joke and I play around, but I feel that he really believes what he says; I really don’t like that.”
Brunson, who has scored three first round finishes over Roan Carneiro, Sam Alvey and Ed Herman since a 2014 decision win vs. Lorenz Larkin, plans on making Saturday night a bout for those in attendance in Hidalgo, Texas.
“I’m doing this for the fans too,” he said. “For anyone to beat me in a fight, they’re going to have to get lucky. I’m well-rounded, fast and explosive. I work hard. I’m not saying they can’t get lucky, but they’ll have to get lucky.
“That’s all Uriah Hall has to rely on, to get lucky.”
When Derek Brunson signed with the UFC in 2012 after a knockout loss to Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza in Strikeforce, most were unsure what to expect out of him.
Since that time, though, Brunson has won six of seven and finds himself right on the cusp of moving into title contention. He faces Uriah Hall Saturday night in the co-main event of UFC Fight Night 94 on FOX Sports 1.
A pro since 2010, the former three-time NCAA Div. II wrestling All-American at North Carolina-Pembroke, Brunson (16-3) has always tried to keep emotions out of his fights. That’s not the case with Hall, a former runner-up on The Ultimate Fighter.
“(This fight) is personal; I really don’t like him,” Brunson said. “Just him running his mouth, being arrogant, being cocky – I joke and I play around, but I feel that he really believes what he says; I really don’t like that.”
Brunson, who has scored three first round finishes over Roan Carneiro, Sam Alvey and Ed Herman since a 2014 decision win vs. Lorenz Larkin, plans on making Saturday night a bout for those in attendance in Hidalgo, Texas.
“I’m doing this for the fans too,” he said. “For anyone to beat me in a fight, they’re going to have to get lucky. I’m well-rounded, fast and explosive. I work hard. I’m not saying they can’t get lucky, but they’ll have to get lucky.
“That’s all Uriah Hall has to rely on, to get lucky.”
Dustin Poirier hears all the talk about Conor McGregor possibly coming to the lightweight division and challenging for the UFC title.
But Poirier isn’t concerning himself with avenging a loss to McGregor in the future. Instead, he is taking the wait-and-see approach.
Poirier headlines this Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 94 card vs. Michael Johnson. The event airs live on FOX Sports 1.
“My goal isn’t to avenge losses,” Poirier said during a recent interview on UFC Tonight. “My goal is the title and if he’s there, what a great Cinderella story that would be.”
“The Diamond” believes he will do nothing but dominate Johnson over the course of their 25-minute lightweight battle.
“This fight’s 25 minutes, so I’m not going to put myself in a dangerous position to look for the takedown,” he said. “If this fight hits the mat, he’s getting tapped.
“He’s a strong-willed fighter. He sticks to the game plan and executes. I don’t think he’s great anywhere – I’ll outclass him everywhere.”
Dustin Poirier hears all the talk about Conor McGregor possibly coming to the lightweight division and challenging for the UFC title.
But Poirier isn’t concerning himself with avenging a loss to McGregor in the future. Instead, he is taking the wait-and-see approach.
Poirier headlines this Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 94 card vs. Michael Johnson. The event airs live on FOX Sports 1.
“My goal isn’t to avenge losses,” Poirier said during a recent interview on UFC Tonight. “My goal is the title and if he’s there, what a great Cinderella story that would be.”
“The Diamond” believes he will do nothing but dominate Johnson over the course of their 25-minute lightweight battle.
“This fight’s 25 minutes, so I’m not going to put myself in a dangerous position to look for the takedown,” he said. “If this fight hits the mat, he’s getting tapped.
“He’s a strong-willed fighter. He sticks to the game plan and executes. I don’t think he’s great anywhere – I’ll outclass him everywhere.”
Ahead of his battle against fellow highly-regarded UFC Lightweight contender Dustin Poirier in the main event of this Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 94 event, Michael Johnson is featured in the latest “Free Fight” released by the UFC on Monday.
Feat…
Ahead of his battle against fellow highly-regarded UFC Lightweight contender Dustin Poirier in the main event of this Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 94 event, Michael Johnson is featured in the latest “Free Fight” released by the UFC on Monday.
Featured below is the complete Gleison Tibau vs. Michael Johnson fight from the UFC 168 pay-per-view, which took place in December of 2013 and saw Johnson score a second-round knockout victory.
Johnson takes on Dustin Poirier in the main event of this weekend’s UFC Fight Night 94 event, which goes down live from State Farm Arena in Hidalgo, Texas, and airs live on FOX Sports 1.
Ahead of his battle against fellow highly-regarded UFC Lightweight contender Michael Johnson in the main event of this Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 94 event, Dustin Poirier is featured in the latest “Free Fight” released by the UFC on Monday.
Feat…
Ahead of his battle against fellow highly-regarded UFC Lightweight contender Michael Johnson in the main event of this Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 94 event, Dustin Poirier is featured in the latest “Free Fight” released by the UFC on Monday.
Featured below is the complete Dustin Poirier vs. Akira Corassani fight from the TUF: Nations Finale event, which took place in April of 2014 and saw Poirier score a second-round TKO victory.
Poirier takes on Michael Johnson in the main event of this weekend’s UFC Fight Night 94 event, which goes down live from State Farm Arena in Hidalgo, Texas, and airs live on FOX Sports 1.
Former World Series of Fighting champion Rick Glenn will make his Octagon debut next Saturday night at UFC Fight Night 94 opposite Evan Dunham.
Glenn is replacing Abel Trujillo, who suffe…
Former World Series of Fighting champion Rick Glenn will make his Octagon debut next Saturday night at UFC Fight Night 94 opposite Evan Dunham.
Glenn is replacing Abel Trujillo, who suffered an injury.
Glenn (18-3-1) won the WSOF featherweight title in 2014 over Georgi Karakhanyan before losing it to Lance Palmer. He is on a three-fight win streak overall and is 15-1-1 in his last 17 fights.
Dunham (17-6) has reeled off three consecutive UFC wins to improve his record to 10-6 with the promotion.
UFC Fight Night 94 goes down September 17 from the State Farm Arena in Hidalog, Texas. The majority of the card airs live on FOX Sports 1. The event is headlined by Michael Johnson vs. Dustin Poirier.
Manny Gamburyan, who has made 13 appearances inside the Octagon, has been forced out of a planned UFC Fight Night 94 encounter with Alejandro Perez.
Perez will remain on the September 17 …
Manny Gamburyan, who has made 13 appearances inside the Octagon, has been forced out of a planned UFC Fight Night 94 encounter with Alejandro Perez.
Perez will remain on the September 17 card from Hidalgo, Texas, as he welcomes Albert Morales to the UFC. The card, which takes place inside the State Farm Arena, airs on FOX Sports 1 and UFC Fight Pass, and marks the first time the promotion has stopped in Hidalgo.
Morales (6-0) is a 25-year-old from California who has competed in Bellator, the World Series of Fighting and Resurrection Fighting Alliance. Two of his six career wins came with Bellator, while five of his six have been stoppage triumphs.
Perez (17-6) sports a 3-1 UFC mark, which includes a 2014 win over Jose Quinonez, which was in the finals of The Ultimate Fighter: Latin America. The 26-year-old from Mexico rebounded from a loss to Patrick Williams by besting Scott Jorgensen and Ian Entwistle in his last two matches.
UFC Fight Night 94 features Michael Johnson vs. Dustin Poirier, Derek Brunson vs. Uriah Hall and Evan Dunham vs. Abel Trujillo.
