Brunson (left) believes he beat Anderson (right) at UFC 208. (Photo: Getty Images)
Derek Brunson has not yet accepted the defeat Anderson Silva at UFC 208, an event held last Saturday (11), in Brooklyn (USA). In an interview with the program 'The MMA Hour' (USA) the American assured that he won the duel, but the result on the judges' sheets prevented him from achieving the greatest achievement of his career.
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“You look for those big moments in your career. I heard people's reactions, I heard people say he won 30-27, and these people are retarded. Sorry for my wording, it's not appropriate to say this, but it was just ridiculous. Say that Anderson Silva He won is crazy, there is no way he could have won. That was my watershed moment, getting a significant victory. Ninety percent of the people I talked to told me I won, but that will evaporate eventually. Let's not talk about that, let's see who won and who lost, not how the fight unfolded. And that's the most important thing they took from me. The fight was exciting at times, we exchanged punches, we had clinches, he threw knees at me, I threw uppercuts trying to finish him. But regardless, a watershed moment in my career was taken from me. People told me to stop crying and move on, but shouldn't I care? After this interview, I plan to move forward,” Brunson said.
Asked about the different fighting style adopted in the confrontation, Brunson, who is known for his aggressive stance and the strong pace he imposes in the first round, admitted that he needed to be more conservative against the “Spider”. According to him, the former middleweight champion's high counterattacking power made him pay extra attention in the Octagon.
“I think Anderson still has a lot of fights ahead of him. Yes, his chin has regressed, but everyone has a weak chin if they get hit on it. For his entire career, he was elusive and hit guys. He can make guys pay even when fighting at range. I'm fast and it wasn't easy to explode. And whenever I tried to set up the attack, I saw him getting ready to counterattack me, so I had to be careful.”
“Judges, don’t admire whoever is fighting. Judge the fight. There is no way, statistically, that he could have won that fight. If I faced anyone on the roster and had the same fight, I would win. If the statistics were reversed, and I did what Anderson did to me, and he did what I did, who wins this fight? And it's not Anderson's fault, nothing against him. They say I had a lot of respect, but no, I just tried not to be stupid like in my last fight. I'm not going to be careless against a great counterpuncher. I know I can knock people out, I have to find the patience in my game to be part of the process. I'm learning this, I'm improving, and I've evolved. We worked the whole camp on not leaning over with my chin up. I wouldn't say I was being hesitant. I was studying, I was trying to knock him out”, concluded the fighter.
At 33 years old, number 9 in the middleweight rankings, he suffered his second consecutive defeat in the organization. In total, he has seven triumphs and three setbacks in Ultimate (16-5 in his professional record).
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