Brunson regrets UFC exit, open to BKFC fights with Till and Romero

Derek Brunson has spent three years away from the UFC, and he now sounds unsure it was worth it. "I look back now and I'm like, maybe that wasn't the best idea," he told The Independent. He doesn't call for a return, but he says the timing of his exit was costly.

He asked for his release in late 2023, citing pay. Soon after, he says, came bigger bonuses and the Paramount broadcast deal that did away with pay-per-view. Brunson, 42, believes he would be a top-five middleweight in the UFC today and says he would beat champion Sean Strickland seven times out of ten. Those are his own opinions and his own estimate of the money he missed, not verified contract figures.

The years since have been thin. He left on a two-fight losing streak, against Jared Cannonier and Dricus Du Plessis. Since then he has won a decision over Ray Cooper III in PFL and lost a grappling match to Rodolfo Vieira, and a planned fight on the Global Fight League's first card in May 2025 never happened.

BKFC offers a way to revisit old business. Brunson submitted Till in the third round in September 2021, and Romero stopped him in the third round in January 2014. He confirmed to Bloody Elbow that he and Till were booked to meet on a Misfits Boxing card in Qatar in April, which was shut down by conflict in the Middle East. Till has since won in BKFC over Aaron Chalmers and Romero. Brunson said Till "looks like he's on a revenge tour" and suggested a UK date.

Nothing is signed with either man. Brunson's BKFC debut is a cruiserweight bout with Theo Doukas in Myrtle Beach on Nov. 20, and he says that is his focus. He expects to fight in MMA again and estimates another 18 months to two years of competing. How he looks against Doukas will decide whether a Till or Romero fight gets real traction.