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Following Brutal Loss at UFC 285, 39-Year-Old Derek Brunson Gives Huge Retirement Hint: “Thanks for All Who Watched My Career”

Published 03/05/2023, 1:35 PM EST

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UFC middleweight fighter Derek Brunson was so close to reaching a title bout, but luck never favored him. Brunson was on a five-fight winning streak when he faced Jared Cannonier at UFC 271. The fight didn’t go as planned for “The One”. He lost the bout in round two via a knockout. However, the 39-year-old wanted to give another shot at UFC 285 to quench his thirst for more victories. This time too, Brunson lost the bout in round two, as his corner decided to stop the fight, followed by a technical knockout.

The two continuous failures made the American fighter give a hint about his retirement to the fans. At UFC 285, Brunson faced the South African fighter Dricus Du Plessis. Before the UFC 285 bout, the 29-year-old had a record of 18 victories and just two losses, while Brunson stood at 23 victories and 8 losses.

Derek Brunson gives a hint about his retirement

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Following the recent loss of ‘Stillknocks, ‘The One’ took to his Twitter handle to talk about his retirement. He wrote, “Thanks for all who watched my career. Crazy fight tonight. My corner decided to stop it after the second round. Congratulations to my opponent.” After coming across the tweet from Brunson, many MMA fighters showered the UFC middleweight with praise for having a phenomenal fighting career.

Check out how celebrities and MMA fighters reacted to Brunson’s tweet. The retired UFC two-division champion B. J. Penn was one of the many MMA fighters who congratulated Brunson.

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The former MMA fighter, Gilbert Jamal Smith, commented about Brunson’s phenomenal fighting career.

The MMA reporter, Alex Behunin, thanked him for the memories.

The UFC fighter, Brenden Allen, conveyed his respect to the American fighter.

The current Bellator bantamweight champion, Sergio Pettis, expressed his love for Brunson.

The UFC fighter Tanner Boser mentioned that he is a fan of Derek Brunson for life.

Herbert Burns showed his respect to the middleweight contender with a folded hand emoji.

Brunson vs. Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 285

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UFC 285 witnessed some power-packed fights. However, the bout between Brunson and Dricus Du Plessis was comparatively less fierce. In the first round, Du Plessis seemed tired, and Brunson’s grappling dominated the entire round.

READ MORE: “I Almost Threw Up Watching This” – Kourtney Kardashian & Travis Barker ‘Stretch’ at UFC 285 Has Fans Unhappy and Making Megan Fox Comparisons

The game changed when the two entered the second round. The tired-looking ‘Stillknocks’ dramatically came back to Brunson with full force. He caught the American fighter with a left hook, followed by heavy strikes. This resulted in Brunson losing ground, with blood oozing from his face, followed by his corner stopping the bout after round two.

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Written by:

Priyanka

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Priyanka is a UFC writer at EssentiallySports. She has been an ardent fan of the UFC since 2018. She is passionate when it comes to writing about the sport and this is evident in her articles.
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Edited by:

Anupama Ghosh