USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings, Sept. 7: Behold blond Brunson

Five-fight winning streaks in the UFC don’t come easy, but Derek Brunson is currently enjoying just such a run.

After Brunson (23-7 MMA, 14-5 UFC) scored an impressive submission win over Darren Till at UFC Fight Night 191, the middleweight contender is unbeaten since his November 2018 loss to now-champ Israel Adesanya. Brunson believes his next fight should be for the UFC title, pending the result of a planned matchup between Adesanya and Robert Whittaker.

Whether or not that pans out remains to be seen, but it’s hard to argue with his results. His latest victory also sees Brunson rise to No. 3 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie middleweight rankings, settling in just behind the two men set to clash next.

After his latest win, check out the new look of the middleweight rankings, with Till dropping slightly to No. 12. Additionally, check out other divisions using the dropdown menu above.