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Derek Brunson spent a total of 10+ years competing under the UFC banner, picking up a record of 14-7-0 along the way.
The UFC veteran is now a part of the PFL roster and Brunson believes it was just time for him to part ways with the UFC.
“I think it was at the time that we both went our separate ways,” Brunson told MMA Fighting. “I had a good run there but I guess where I’m at in my career, at my age, some of the things that go on there didn’t make sense for me. It was just tough to get up for these fights, for all these top guys. It was just perfect time for both of us to move on.”
Brunson makes his PFL debut tomorrow night at the 2023 PFL World Championships, facing Ray Cooper III.
One thing Brunson did reveal is that he had a phone call with UFC President Dana White just after his exit from the promotion.
“Somebody asked Dana [White] something about me at the last card and Dana called me right after,” Brunson revealed. “He’s like ‘I didn’t hear what they said, it could have come across as weird but I wanted to let you know I wasn’t trying to slight you or anything like that.’ It was no animosity, no ill will.
“I put in some hard work in the UFC. I don’t think what I’ve done can be duplicated. The UFC is a lot different from when I first joined. Only the baddest guys fought in the UFC. Now the UFC, they’re signing a lot of guys so they can build more guys up. It’s just bigger so they’ve got a lot more guys.”
