Derek Brunson knows the importance of keeping things moving in a positive direction in all aspects of his life, and this is especially true when it comes to the fight game. Moving forward is the only way to make progress in such a rigorous and unforgiving sport, and more times than not the push to advance comes at a cost.

Setbacks and adversity be damned, Brunson will always end up where he's aiming to go because he's willing to do the work required, and make the adjustments necessary to adapt to the challenges at hand. As an athlete Brunson is as goal oriented as they come, but as a fighter he's far beyond driven.

Brunson is determined to maximize on every drop of his potential, and it will be his hard work day in and day out that will bring his dreams to life.

"I'm a model of consistency in all I do," Brunson told FloCombat. "I'm always studying, training and working to improve my game in all areas. It's all about progress with me and I've been able to make a lot of ground in a short amount of time if you think about it. I've been doing this for six years now as a professional and only six of my twenty one fights happened on the regional circuit. The rest have been in either Strikeforce or the UFC and that's pretty good looking back."

The North Carolina native has found a tremendous amount of success during his six years in the professional ranks, but Brunson has also found value in his missteps as well. MMA is one of the most unpredictable sports on the planet where anything can truly happen on a given night.

As a fighter Brunson has experienced this cliche from all angles, which has only served to stamp further truth into the phrase.

And there was no bigger personal example of this unpredictability than his most recent tilt with Anderson Silva at UFC 208 back in February. The rising middleweight stepped in against the former long reigning 185-pound king and handled his business throughout the three-round affair.

While the former pound-for-pound great certainly had his moments, Brunson believed he controlled the action and dictated the pace of the fight. When the final bell sounded Brunson believed victory had been achieved, but when the judges' scorecards were read shock and disappointment began to take hold as Silva took the unanimous decision.


Feb 11, 2017; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Anderson Silva (red gloves) celebrates after his victory against Derek Brunson (blue gloves) during UFC 208 at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland-USA TODAY Sports

"I definitely know I won that fight," Brunson said. "I was bummed for a while afterwards, but you have to have a short memory in this sport. You have to get over things, get right back in the gym and keep it moving. I never left my training or allowed that to stop me from putting in the work, but I was just down in the sense of how could the judges be so bad?

"No matter how the fight goes or how exciting it is, you have to show up and make a proper decision and I didn't think there was any way he won that fight. But I'm moving forward now and I have another good fight in front of me. I've lost two in a row, but I know my skill set, and I know it's on me to get back on a winning streak. Like I said my last one was kind of crazy, but I know what I have to do in order to get back into the win column. That said, I'm kind of enjoying flying under the radar right now."

Brunson admits it took several weeks for him to shake off what he and many fans felt to be a robbery at the hands of the judges in Brooklyn, but wallowing isn't a condition Brunson allows himself. Instead, Brunson poured his energy into gym work, and when the chance to face Dan Kelly at UFC Fight Night 110 materialized, the Jackson/Wink affiliate suddenly had a new target to focus on.

The former Olympic judoka is coming off the biggest win of his career over Rashad Evans at UFC 209 and Brunson believes the matchup presents an excellent opportunity for him to turn things around.

"Dan is a good fighter and he's compiled a strong record in the UFC," Brunson said. "I believe he's 13-1 overall and has built a 6-1 record during his time in the UFC. He's a very game and solid opponent and I'm definitely going in there to take him out in New Zealand.

"This is definitely going to be a big fight because the middleweight division is stacked with legends and contenders. Look at Dan Kelly. He may not have a ton of name value but this guy has competed in the Olympics four times and when you are talking about sports overall it's tough to find anything bigger than the Olympics.

"To have competed in the Olympics four times is pretty serious business and we definitely have a lot of solid players in the division."


Sep 17, 2016; Hidalgo, TX, USA; Uriah Hall (red gloves) is knocked down by Derek Brunson (blue gloves) during UFC Fight Night at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Sean Porkorny-USA TODAY Sports

While the matchup between Brunson and Kelly will certainly be a crucial bout in the larger middleweight picture, the former Strikeforce prospect isn't entirely sure what type of impact his upcoming fight will have on the division as a whole. Brunson is uncertain because he simply hasn't been paying too much attention to the comings and goings of his peers in the 185-pound ranks.

Where Brunson's day-to-day grind is as all-encompassing as it's ever been, he's freed up a lot of space by blocking out the drama currently playing out atop the middleweight fold. The reason for this change was due to some recent advice given by a former UFC champion, and Brunson believes he's in a better place because he's stopped feeding into things beyond his control.

"I really haven't been paying attention to anything to be honest with you," Brunson said. "That last fight had me kind of sour so I put my focus on taking a step back and putting my time and energy into my training rather being consumed by the sport. I had a former champion tell me recently he didn't even watch fights and I thought he was lying at the time, but now I kind of sees what he means. Rather than get consumed by all the things happening in MMA that energy is better served elsewhere.

"I definitely need to get back on a winning streak and I'm sure I'll be having a lot of fun after that."

Although Brunson has championship aspirations and intends to bring his dreams to reality, he's also firmly grounded in reality. The 33-year-old middleweight knows there's a long way left to travel before he ever sees a championship opportunity, and he has no problem taking the long way toward his ultimate goal.

He's been on both sides of the streaks that come in the fight game, and he plans to kick off a new run of the winning variety against Kelly in New Zealand on June 11.


Feb 21, 2016; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Derek Brunson (red gloves) reacts after defeating Roan Carneiro (not pictured) during UFC Fight Night at the Consol Energy Center. Mandatory Credit: David Dermer-USA TODAY Sports

"I'm just sitting back and keeping things in perspective. I know I have some serious skills and it's my time to make a run in this division. I don't even like to talk about steroids and PEDs anymore, but that stuff is thinning out because guys can't take them anymore. You have to be an idiot to keep trying to beat the system, and we are starting to see a big difference in guy's bodies.

"You also see some guys who aren't legends but are about to retire because they only have a couple fights left in them. It's my time now. I've had great runs. I've had one bump, and the other was the fight with Anderson, which was kind of crazy, but it's definitely my time. It won't be long before I'm in the big fights and I'm going to do what it takes to make it all happen."