"We'll see what happens" - Michael Bisping reveals who he believes Derek Brunson should be 'matched up' with following his win over Darren Till
Michael Bisping has asserted that he’d like to see Derek Brunson fight Jared Cannonier next.
On BT Sport’s post-fight breakdown of UFC Fight Night: Brunson vs. Till, Michael Bisping said:
“I mean, that [Brunson vs. Cannonier] is the logical next fight. When you look at those (UFC middleweight rankings), I think (Paulo) Costa is matched up with (Marvin) Vettori, (Robert) Whittaker’s fighting (Israel) Adesanya at some point. Yeah, listen, he’s not going to take on Jack Hermansson; I think he’s booked up as well. So, Jared Cannonier is the man. He just beat Kelvin Gastelum. He looked great. And that would be an official – or unofficial, should I say – number-one contender matchup, unless Brunson wants to wait on the sidelines. He’s on a five-fight win streak. He’s getting better and better.”
Adam Catterall and Nick Peet also reviewed some of the event’s key matchups.
Addressing Derek Brunson – the winner of the event's headlining fight – Catterall noted that he could perhaps be booked to fight Jared Cannonier next. Catterall suggested that Brunson vs. Cannonier could be a UFC middleweight title eliminator matchup. UFC Hall of Famer Michael Bisping agreed.
Furthermore, 'The Count' explained that Darren Till could learn from Derek Brunson's career trajectory. Bisping alluded to Brunson having gone through several ups and downs to get to his current position.
Bisping emphasized that 'The Gorilla' would benefit from setting aside his title aspirations for a while. He urged the Liverpool native to forget about the top-ranked fighters. Bisping wants Till to fight lower-ranked opponents. 'The Count' pointed out that Till could thereby regain his mojo and work on improving his skills before making another run at a UFC world title.
Bisping continued:
“I’m going back to Darren when we should be celebrating Derek Brunson here. Derek Brunson looked sensational. Jared Cannonier should be the next matchup, but we’ll see what happens.”
Is a Derek Brunson vs. Jared Cannonier matchup on the horizon?
Derek Brunson’s most recent fight was a third-round submission win against Darren Till at UFC Fight Night: Brunson vs. Till on September 4th, 2021.
Meanwhile, Jared Cannonier’s last fight was a unanimous decision win over Kelvin Gastelum at UFC on ESPN: Cannonier vs. Gastelum on August 21st, 2021. As of this time, Brunson and Cannonier’s respective comeback dates are yet to be revealed.
It would make a lot of sense for the UFC to match both fighters in a title eliminator.