UFC: Derek Brunson calls Kevin Holland ‘stupid’ for constant talking – ‘I really wanted to punch him in the mouth’
- Brunson thinks Holland will ‘learn from it’ after ‘Big Mouth’ takes unanimous decision loss in UFC Vegas 22 main event
- ‘This is the fight game, it’s good to have fun but you should be be a little more focussed’
Derek Brunson wrestled his way to a dominant unanimous decision over Kevin Holland in the UFC Vegas 22 main event on Saturday night, setting up a push into the middleweight top five.
The 37-year-old American earned two scorecards of 49-46, and one 49-45, to make it four wins on the bounce since joining up with Henri Hooft at Sanford MMA in Florida after his November 2019 defeat by now-champion Israel Adesanya.
No 7-ranked Brunson was able to stay calm and composed in the face of 10th-ranked Holland’s trash talking and gamesmanship, getting a personal best six takedowns, with 15 minutes and 28 seconds of control time on the ground.
“I wanted to knock him out, but every win can’t be pretty,” Brunson, who has the third most middleweight wins (13) in the UFC, told Paul Felder in his post-fight interview. “I been putting work in this division for a while, I wasn’t too excited about this match up.
“I wanted a top five, they probably didn’t like my performance, but let’s see what happens. [Paulo] Costa, what’s up, man? That’s a fight I’d like to have.”