Derek Brunson is coming off of his first main event appearance at UFC Fight Night 101, where he was defeated by Robert Whittaker.
Brunson looks to rebound at UFC 208, where he will be taking on former UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva, whom Brunson deems as tricky.
“The guy is actively training and in shape,” Brunson said to MMA Junkie. “I know what I’m getting. Anderson’s not on the couch. The guy’s tricky. I know what’s going on here. It’s a game changer. I definitely got to go out there and be more patient than I was in my previous fight. But you know the guy brings to the table. A lot of people like to ask the question about slowing down, his speed – the guy’s still a live person to me. It’s Anderson Silva.”
Silva will also be the first former of current UFC champion Brunson has faced in his UFC career. Brunson is also coming off of his second loss in the UFC, which again came to Robert Whittaker, but Brunson learned a lot from that loss.
“I was gunning for something that I shouldn’t have been gunning for,” Brunson said. “I knew what I was doing, trying to get a title shot, trying to impress, trying to make a statement, cap off the last fight on my contract. But sometimes you’ve got to be a little more patient about the process. So I definitely learned from that one, and this will be a great fight to show I learned.”
UFC 208 takes place on Saturday, February 8 from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York with Holly Holm and Germaine De Randamie headlining.
