Derek Brunson: ‘Hermansson is My Main Target’

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At UFC Fight Night 173, 10-year veteran Derek Brunson once again put to rest any doubts about his status as a Top-10 level middleweight. Now in the midst of a three-fight winning streak, and a having No. 7 next to his name on the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s 185-pound rankings, the 36-year-old has his eyes set on a specific target to take him another step up the contendership ladder.

“I’m looking for a guy with a lot more pop. [Robert] Whittaker and [Jared] Cannonier are already booked, so I can’t go for them. I need somebody that’s really going to crack me into that top-five and give me some recognition. That four spot looks real lovely. Hermansson is my main target,” Brunson told Sherdog. “I’ve fought everybody. I want some fresh, new and exciting match-ups. Everybody needs to fight each other. I fought Uriah Hall and I beat [him]. I fought [Yoel] Romero, I was winning that fight, and I loss to him. They’re fighting each other. I am not interested in either one. I beat one of them [and] I lost to one of them. I want new challenges and people who can do a lot for me.”

In this exclusive conversation with Sherdog, Brunson spoke on his notable underdog status before his bout with a man 14 years his junior in Edmen Shahbazyan; he also talked about if he felt the UFC hoped to use him as a stepping-stone for the upstart middleweight.