RALEIGH, N.C. – Derek Brunson is taking on another young prospect he can relate to.
Brunson (20-7 MMA, 11-5 UFC) faces the undefeated Edmen Shahbazyan (11-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC) at UFC 248. He said Shahbazyan reminds him of himself when he was tearing through the UFC’s middleweight ranks.
“Edmen is a young, reckless, confident guy,” Brunson told MMA Junkie this past Saturday at UFC on ESPN+ 24 in Raleigh, N.C, a couple hours from his home base in Wilmington. “It’s kind of funny because I remember being his age and being where he was at and just having hype behind me. So I know what it feels like for him.”
But after a fast start in the UFC, Brunson went through his ups and downs. He lost fights to notable names and former champions, including Robert Whittaker and current middleweight champ Israel Adesanya. Their wins over Brunson springboarded them to title contention.
In his most recent outing, Brunson took on another surging middleweight in Ian Heinisch at UFC 241 and halted his five-fight winning streak. Brunson now has four wins in his past six fights.
“This fight (against Shahbazyan), it kind of reminds me of the Israel fight,” Brunson said. “You’ve got a young guy with a lot of hype, undefeated. But again, it reminds me of my last fight with Ian Heinisch. (He was) near undefeated – 13-1. He had one blemish, but a lot of hype behind him. I kind of feel the same way. It’s my job to go out here, do my thing, and rack up another one after this one. I think that’ll put me right here at a title shot.”
Brunson has displayed a more composed approach in his current two-fight winning streak. He credited the change to his recent move to the Hard Knocks gym in South Florida, home to the likes of current UFC welterweight champ Kamaru Usman.
“I think I’ve got a solid situation,” Brunson said. “I switched my training up over the past year and a half at Hard Knocks down in Florida, and we have a good group of guys who try and get each other better and come in the training room every day, and it’s more of a team effort. So it’s definitely been working out for me and working out in my fights, also.”
Derek Brunson says Edmen Shahbazyan's UFC 248 hype reminds him of himself