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Derek Brunson "The One"

Inactive · age 42 · Southpaw · 6'1" 185 cm · 185 lb 84 kg · reach 77" 196 cm
At a glance
  • 64% of wins by KO or submission
  • 50% of wins finished in round 1
  • UFC veteran since 2012
Elo rating
1568
Global Elo 1616 ±38
Rank
—
—
UFC record
14-7-0
KO 7 · Sub 2 · Dec 5
Streak
-2
Δ90d -24 · Δ1y -24
Last fight
Mar 4, 2023
Loss by KO · R2

Division-adjusted profile

each axis = percentile in own division
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vs Compare across divisions →

The size-fair view: each fighter is measured against his own division, so a heavyweight's lower raw pace isn't punished. Toughness inverts strikes absorbed. Raw career numbers are in Performance above.

Honest Elo history

21 fights · tap & drag
Dec 29, 2012 — W vs Chris Leben Δ+36Nov 6, 2013 — W vs Brian Houston Δ+30Jan 15, 2014 — L vs Yoel Romero Δ-32Aug 30, 2014 — W vs Lorenz Larkin Δ+23Jan 31, 2015 — W vs Ed Herman Δ+35Aug 8, 2015 — W vs Sam Alvey Δ+18Feb 21, 2016 — W vs Roan Carneiro Δ+13Sep 17, 2016 — W vs Uriah Hall Δ+14Nov 26, 2016 — L vs Robert Whittaker Δ-20Feb 11, 2017 — L vs Anderson Silva Δ-11Jun 10, 2017 — W vs Daniel Kelly Δ+19Oct 28, 2017 — W vs Lyoto Machida Δ+19Jan 27, 2018 — L vs Jacare Souza Δ-17Nov 3, 2018 — L vs Israel Adesanya Δ-20May 4, 2019 — W vs Elias Theodorou Δ+17Aug 17, 2019 — W vs Ian Heinisch Δ+14Aug 1, 2020 — W vs Edmen Shahbazyan Δ+18Mar 20, 2021 — W vs Kevin Holland Δ+14Sep 4, 2021 — W vs Darren Till Δ+15Feb 12, 2022 — L vs Jared Cannonier Δ-23Mar 4, 2023 — L vs Dricus Du Plessis Δ-20 140014501500155016001650 20142016201820202022 [{"i":0,"x":90,"y":329.7,"elo":1463,"date":"2012-12-29","opp":"Chris Leben","result":"W","delta":36},{"i":1,"x":150.4,"y":291.7,"elo":1492,"date":"2013-11-06","opp":"Brian Houston","result":"W","delta":30},{"i":2,"x":164,"y":333.3,"elo":1460,"date":"2014-01-15","opp":"Yoel Romero","result":"L","delta":-32},{"i":3,"x":208,"y":303.4,"elo":1483,"date":"2014-08-30","opp":"Lorenz Larkin","result":"W","delta":23},{"i":4,"x":237.8,"y":258.7,"elo":1518,"date":"2015-01-31","opp":"Ed Herman","result":"W","delta":35},{"i":5,"x":274.4,"y":235.9,"elo":1536,"date":"2015-08-08","opp":"Sam Alvey","result":"W","delta":18},{"i":6,"x":312.6,"y":219.8,"elo":1549,"date":"2016-02-21","opp":"Roan Carneiro","result":"W","delta":13},{"i":7,"x":353.1,"y":201.4,"elo":1563,"date":"2016-09-17","opp":"Uriah Hall","result":"W","delta":14},{"i":8,"x":366.6,"y":226.8,"elo":1543,"date":"2016-11-26","opp":"Robert Whittaker","result":"L","delta":-20},{"i":9,"x":381.5,"y":241,"elo":1532,"date":"2017-02-11","opp":"Anderson Silva","result":"L","delta":-11},{"i":10,"x":404.6,"y":216.8,"elo":1551,"date":"2017-06-10","opp":"Daniel Kelly","result":"W","delta":19},{"i":11,"x":431.7,"y":192.1,"elo":1570,"date":"2017-10-28","opp":"Lyoto Machida","result":"W","delta":19},{"i":12,"x":449.3,"y":214.5,"elo":1553,"date":"2018-01-27","opp":"Jacare Souza","result":"L","delta":-17},{"i":13,"x":503.6,"y":240.3,"elo":1533,"date":"2018-11-03","opp":"Israel Adesanya","result":"L","delta":-20},{"i":14,"x":538.8,"y":218.4,"elo":1550,"date":"2019-05-04","opp":"Elias Theodorou","result":"W","delta":17},{"i":15,"x":559.2,"y":200.8,"elo":1563,"date":"2019-08-17","opp":"Ian Heinisch","result":"W","delta":14},{"i":16,"x":626.9,"y":178.3,"elo":1581,"date":"2020-08-01","opp":"Edmen Shahbazyan","result":"W","delta":18},{"i":17,"x":671.7,"y":160.1,"elo":1595,"date":"2021-03-20","opp":"Kevin Holland","result":"W","delta":14},{"i":18,"x":704.2,"y":140.6,"elo":1611,"date":"2021-09-04","opp":"Darren Till","result":"W","delta":15},{"i":19,"x":735.4,"y":170.4,"elo":1587,"date":"2022-02-12","opp":"Jared Cannonier","result":"L","delta":-23},{"i":20,"x":810,"y":195.6,"elo":1568,"date":"2023-03-04","opp":"Dricus Du Plessis","result":"L","delta":-20}]

Last fights

Elo-based expectation · not betting advice
Date Opponent Result Δ Elo
Mar 4, 2023 Dricus Du Plessis L -20
Feb 12, 2022 Jared Cannonier L -23
Sep 4, 2021 Darren Till W +15
Mar 20, 2021 Kevin Holland W +14
Aug 1, 2020 Edmen Shahbazyan W +18
3 post-fight bonuses
  • Fight of the Night ×2
  • Performance of the Night ×1
$150,000 in bonus money

UFC awards a discretionary bonus for the night's best fight and finishes. Derek Brunson has earned 3. The payout was $50,000 from 2014 to 2025 and $100,000 from 2026; select cards have paid more.

Performance

SLpM Significant Strikes Landed per Minute. Higher = busier striker.
Strikes Landed
L1L3L5
Str Acc Striking accuracy: significant strikes landed / attempted. Higher = more efficient striker.
Strike Accuracy
L1L3L5
SApM Significant Strikes Absorbed per Minute. How often opponents land on this fighter. Lower is better.
Strikes Absorbed
L1L3L5
Str Def Share of opponent’s significant strike attempts that miss or are blocked. Higher is better.
Striking Defense
L1L3L5
TD / 15 min Takedowns landed per 15 minutes (one full 3-round fight). Measures wrestling output.
Takedowns
L1L3L5
TD Acc Takedowns landed / attempted. Higher = cleaner entries.
Takedown Accuracy
L1L3L5
TD Def Share of opponent takedown attempts stuffed. Higher = harder to put on the mat.
Takedown Defense
L1L3L5
Sub / 15 min Submission attempts per 15 minutes. Counts attempts, not just finishes — a proxy for grappling aggression.
Submission Attempts
L1L3L5
Ctrl / 15 min Control time in seconds per 15 minutes. Time in dominant grappling positions. 240 = 4 min, the realistic high-end across divisions.
Control Time (sec)
L1L3L5
KD / 15 min Knockdowns landed per 15 minutes. Counts every flash KD even if the fight continued — measures stopping power across all rounds, not just finishes.
Knockdowns
L1L3L5
Above division avg (intensity ∝ how far)
Near avg (±10%)
Below division avg

Finishes

How wins come Finish rate = (KO + Submission wins) / total UFC wins. Measures how often this fighter closes the show before the scorecards.
64%
9 / 14
Finish rate
KO
7
50% of wins
SUB
2
14% of wins
DEC
5
36% of wins
KO: 7 (50%) 7 Sub: 2 (14%) 2 Dec: 5 (36%) 5
Finishes by round
9 total
R1
7 78%
R2
R3
2 22%
R4
R5

Striking profile

Where significant strikes land — by target zone and by position. 648 landed total · career

Targets head · body · leg
71% Head
  • Head 71%
  • Body 15%
  • Leg 14%
Positions distance · clinch · ground
63% Distance
  • Distance 63%
  • Clinch 15%
  • Ground 23%

Durability

How they're beaten How fights end AGAINST this fighter. Finished-against rate = (times KO'd + submitted) / total UFC losses. A low rate means they rarely get stopped.
86%
of losses by finish
6 of 7 · usually R1
6 KO/TKO 0 Sub 1 Dec Never submitted

Strength of schedule in UFC

Avg opp Elo (last 5) Average Elo rating of the last 5 opponents this fighter faced. A proxy for schedule difficulty — 1700+ is elite-level competition, 1500 is a UFC average opponent.
1614
Contender level
Quality wins (1600+) Wins over opponents rated 1600+ Elo at the time of the fight — clearly above the ~1500 UFC average, contender tier. A count of genuine quality results, not record-padding.
6
of 14 UFC wins
Toughest win The highest-rated opponent this fighter has a win over, by that opponent's Elo at fight time.
Lyoto Machida
Elo 1640 at fight time
Expected wins How many wins an average fighter would be expected to have against this exact schedule, based on pre-fight Elo win probabilities. The line below shows whether this fighter is over- or under-performing their matchups.
11.0
+3.0 wins above what this schedule implies
Opponent Elo over career · 21 UFC fights, oldest → newest
1582
1634
Notable wins
Lyoto Machida 1640 Elias Theodorou 1629 Edmen Shahbazyan 1621 Daniel Kelly 1616 Kevin Holland 1614 Darren Till 1610
Career at a glance
Octagon time
3h 0m
Avg fight time
8:35
Fights per year
2.1
Since last fight
3y 6mo
Bonuses
3
Ground control
1h 10m
vs Compare Derek Brunson with any fighter any division · any era · honest simulation →

Top middleweight

See full rankings →
Dricus Du Plessis
#1 · Elo 1709
Khamzat Chimaev
#2 · Elo 1676
Kamaru Usman
#3 · Elo 1672
Sean Strickland C
#4 · Elo 1657
Brendan Allen
#5 · Elo 1654
Source Raw fight data and per-bout statistics come from Derek Brunson on UFCStats →. Elo rating, uncertainty bands, and division-relative analytics computed by HonestElo — not affiliated with or endorsed by the Ultimate Fighting Championship.