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Derek Brunson is not only out of his UFC 295 fight against Roman Dolidze, he’s also out of the UFC entirely.
The veteran middleweight contender and the promotion have parted ways following an 11-year, 21-fight run, MMA Fighting confirmed with sources close to the situation on Thursday.
Brunson, 39, was expected to face Dolidze in a matchup of ranked contenders on Nov. 11 at Madison Square Garden at UFC 295, however Dolidze tweeted Wednesday that Brunson was out of the bout and instead called to fight either Robert Whittaker or Jared Cannonier.
“No matter what happened, wish you good luck in your next journey,” Dolidze added Thursday following a post by the automated UFC Roster Watch account regarding Brunson’s exit.
Brunson (23-9) has been an active contender in the UFC’s 185-pound division since joining the promotion in 2012 following the dissolution of Strikeforce. The North Carolina native racked up a 14-7 record in the octagon, highlighted by two separate five-fight win streaks that carried him to the brink of title contention.
Over that time, Brunson fought a who’s who of top middleweights, taking on the likes of Anderson Silva, Israel Adesanya, Whittaker, Lyoto Machida, Yoel Romero, Ronaldo Souza, Cannonier, and Dricus Du Plessis, among others.
At the time of his UFC exit, Brunson was the No. 8 ranked middleweight in the promotion’s media-generated rankings.
He is currently MMA Fighting’s No. 11 ranked middleweight in the world.
Derek Brunson and UFC part ways, fight with Roman Dolidze scrapped
Derek Brunson is not only out of his UFC 295 fight against Roman Dolidze, he’s also out of the UFC entirely.
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