Derek Brunson vs Jack Hermansson added to UFC on ESPN 42
We’ve got a very exciting middleweight encounter going down at UFC on ESPN 42, a showdown between no. 5 ranked Derek Brunson (23-8) and no. 8 ranked Jack Hermansson (23-7).
UFC on ESPN 42 is to go down on December 3, 2022, live from the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida, and it is expected to be headlined by a welterweight showcase between two-time title challenger Stephen Thompson and the 2020 Breakthrough Fighter of the Year Kevin Holland.
Reverting back to Brunson versus Hermansson, this should be a very telling fight for both men.
Each man has had a load of success in the UFC’s middleweight division, but each of them have also faltered here and there.
Starting with Derek Brunson, he came to the UFC at the end of 2012 with a record of 9-2, where he defeated Chris Leben via unanimous decision, before returning almost an entire year later to secure a first-round submission (rear naked choke) victory.
A defeat to Yoel Romero would follow, and what an incredible performance this was for him early on. Brunson would take Romero down three times in five attempts, while stuffing all four of Romero’s takedowns.
This was incredibly impressive because he became the first, and to this day the only man to out-wrestle the multi-time world champion, and Olympic silver medalist in freestyle wrestling. However, as history has shown us, there isn’t a more dangerous fighter in round three on the planet than Romero.
Brunson would get stopped via TKO in the third and final round.
Five-straight victories would follow, where he secured four knockouts, before he’d lose back-to-back outings to former champions Robert Whittaker (TKO) and Anderson Silva (UD).
Brunson rebounded with back-to-back first round KO victories, the latter over former light-heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida. However, he’d lose another pair fights, being knocked out by Ronaldo Souza for the second time, and then Israel Adesanya.
There’s no real shame there. Both Souza and Adesanya are multiple time world champions, Souza in Strikeforce, and Adesanya of course in the UFC.
But this marked the beginning of a rejuvenated Brunson, as he’d go on another five-fight win streak, capping it off with victories over Kevin Holland (UD) and Darren Till (rear naked choke).
Following a dominant first round in his latest outing against fellow top ranked Jared Cannonier, he was viciously KO’d with a series of elbows in round two.
Jack Hermansson on the other hand came to the UFC with a record of 13-2 as the Cage Warriors & MFS middleweight champion. He would go 3-2 through his first five promotional bouts, all but his debut ending in a finish, before he’d go on a four-fight win streak.
This saw him submit BJJ black belts (Gerald Meerschaert & David Branch) in back-to-back fights, and he also nearly submitted Ronaldo Souza in their five-round affair but ended up taking the unanimous decision victory home with him.
Hermansson has since gone 3-3, the most notable victory coming over Kelvin Gastelum via submission (heel hook) in just 78 seconds. He’s known more for his grappling, but he did just defeat a violent knockout artist in Chris Curtis entirely on the feet in his last bout this past July.
Both of these men are wicked wrestlers that have secured most of their wins via knockout. Who are you taking?
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