Derek Brunson aims to earn title shot with Darren Till win – and avoid becoming a meme

LAS VEGAS – Derek Brunson knows there is much at stake in his UFC Fight Night 191 headliner with Darren Till, and not all of it boils down to where he’ll stand in the rankings.

With Till firmly established as one of the sport’s biggest trolls on social media, Brunson isn’t about to give him ammunition.

“I mean, it’s all fun and games,” Brunson said of the pair’s pre-fight banter. “We took our jabs at each other, had a little bit of fun. Now it’s fight week. It’s business time, so the goal is to not be the person that’s going to be a meme after this, you know what I mean?”

Brunson (22-7 MMA, 13-5 UFC) and Till (18-3-1 MMA, 6-3-1 UFC) headline Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 191 event, which takes place at the UFC Apex and streams live on ESPN+. It’s a big fight at 185 pounds, with Brunson coming in ranked No. 5 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie middleweight rankings and Till checking in at No. 10.

But it feels especially big for Brunson, who is riding a four-fight winning streak and now headlines his third consecutive UFC event.

“I would definitely say this is the best stretch of my career,” Brunson told MMA Junkie. “We’re getting it done against these young, exciting, hungry guys who’ve been putting together streaks, earning a fight against a tough, savvy veteran.”

Meanwhile, Till has proven one of the most marketable fighters in the promotion, helped in no small part by his bold social media presence. But “The Gorilla” does seem to be in need of a positive result after struggling through a 1-3 stretch in recent times – albeit against top competition.

Brunson said it’s important when evaluating an opponent to not just look at wins and losses, but also performances in those contests.

“I watched a lot of Darren Till – you know, he’s very tricky,” Brunson said. “In this game, you’re going to win some, you’re going to lose some, but the game is to win way more than you lose – and I wouldn’t say all of his losses were straight, like, he got annihilated. A couple of his losses, he was winning the fight and got caught, you know? So like, those are the things that I take from a fight. I dissect it and look at it like that and then understand the skill set that he possesses and then plan it with that.”

Meme concerns aside, there are other meaningful implications in the contest for Brunson’s future. At 37, he’s not exactly old in the sport, but he also can’t be patient in any planned run to the title. With an impressive win here, Brunson believes he has a real case to be next in line for the upcoming fight between middleweight champ Israel Adesanya and former titleholder Robert Whittaker.

“I’m definitely looking at it as a potential No 1 contender fight,” Brunson said. “Just being with what I’ve done – you know, four fights in a row against these guys that were supposed to be contending for titles. If I didn’t give these guys the hiccups, then they would be talking about these guys fighting for titles.

“I mean, I remember they were talking about Ian Heinisch; he comes in and looks really good early, and they were saying, ‘Man, this guy, he’s trending to be the next title challenger.’ I shut him down, then (Edmen) Shahbazyan came around, and everybody was talking about the youngest champion, and I sat him down. Then (Kevin) Holland came, five in a row. He beats me, his trash talk was already directed towards ‘Izzy,’ so like that was looking like a fight that was 100 percent going to be made, you know, so I set that down. So, like, I if I go out here and finish Till, definitely five in a row should be next after ‘Izzy’ and Whittaker.”

Nothing, of course, is guaranteed in the UFC. Circumstances change frequently, and title shots aren’t always given solely through the merit of a winning streak. That said, an impressive performance would certainly help his case.

“I’m just going to do my thing, show my growth, and I’m going to take my time and let the fight develop,” Brunson said. “You know, I’m looking to get the finish, but at the same time, I’m not in a hurry.

“Till says he wants to finish it in the first round, so maybe he’ll be in a hurry. If you want to come fight like that, I’m OK with him bringing the fight, pushing the pace, so I’m good however the fight goes. I just want to go out there and get a finish and make no doubt that I should be next.”