"Now I'm gonna fight him and beat him up" - Derek Brunson explains why Sean Strickland fight makes sense
Derek Brunson is in the market for a new opponent and already has someone in mind. At 38 years old, Brunson, fighting out of Kill Cliff FC, lost a No.1-contender fight in February against Jared Cannonier. The North Carolina native is now looking to get back on track against Sean Strickland.
Brunson posted on Twitter calling out Strickland earlier in the week. The controversial middleweight, Sean Strickland, responded on Instagram several days later. Brunson, a Kill Cliff product, is the No.4-ranked UFC middleweight, while 'Tarzan' is the No.7- ranked contender.
Sean Strickland that’s a yes from me 🤚🏾
UFC London had a star-studded night of fights with a handful of UFC fighters in attendance. Brunson was at the event and interviewed on MMA Island, where he explained the Strickland matchup:
"Two guys that fumbled the bag. Now I'm gonna fight him and beat him up."
Brunson is referring to himself losing the No.1- contender fight and Strickland losing to Alex Pereira in a matchup that could have earned him a title shot. 'Tarzan' seems interested in getting back into the octagon soon, but the North Carolina native believes he needs to recover from his loss to Pereira first.
Watch Derek Brunson's interview with MMA Island below:
Derek Brunson suggests timeline for Sean Strickland fight
Strickland didn't like Brunson's idea of waiting until the end of the year. Brunson wanted to take a few months off so that 'Tarzan' could recover from his devastating knockout against Pereira.
During the same interview, Brunson had this to say about wanting Strickland to recover and the timeline for their potential fight:
"He just took a nasty loss. I'm thinking it's in his best interest to take a little time off, collect himself, gather himself. I know he wanna get back out there and fight. I've been talking to the UFC, and we're talking about late November, early December."
The November/December timeline gives both fighters time to fully recover. Both fighters are running out of time to become champions and need to be smart with their fight decisions. If this fight happens, one will emerge back into the title shot conversation, and the other will probably face crossroads in their career.