Last weekend, in the main event of the UFC’s action packed returned to Sao Paulo, Brazil, Derek Brunson shot up the middleweight rankings with a first-round drubbing of Lyoto Machida.
Post-fight, when pressed by on-duty color commentator Daniel Cormier, Brunson issued a fun callout of former UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold.
On Wednesday night, Brunson doubled down on this callout, addressing both Rockhold and former champ Chris Weidman on Twitter, saying they have 24 hours to accept his fight offer or he’ll fly to their home states.
Weidman & Rockhold have 24 hours to answer my fight request or I might make a trip to New York & California to see if I can find them! ⌛️👊
— Derek Brunson (@DerekBrunson) November 2, 2017
“Weidman & Rockhold have 24 hours to answer my fight request or I might make a trip to New York & California to see if I can find them,” Brunson said.
While Rockhold has not yet fired back, Weidman was quick to answer. It appears he’s not interested. Why, exactly, is difficult to say.
😂 noooo. Please pick Luke. Not me !
— Chris Weidman (@ChrisWeidmanUFC) November 2, 2017
“Noooo,” Weidman said in his response. “Please Pick Luke. Not me!”
Ok cool. I’ll jump you in the rankings and move on to my next project @LukeRockhold . @Mickmaynard2 @danawhite https://t.co/C38hhoV6BK
— Derek Brunson (@DerekBrunson) November 2, 2017
“Ok cool,” Brunson responded to the reluctant Weidman. “I’ll jump you in the rankings and move on to my next project [Luke Rockhold.]
With his knockout of Lyoto Machida, Brunson built on the momentum of another first-round knockout over Dan Kelly. In his next most recent fight, he gave up a controversial split decision to former middleweight champ and MMA legend Anderson Silva.
Weidman, meanwhile, is riding high on a submission win over rising contender Kelvin Gastelum, while Rockhold recently returned to title contention with a second-round stoppage of David Branch.
Would you rather see Derek Brunson fight Chris Weidman or Luke Rockhold? Are you surprised by Weidman’s response? Join the conversation in the comments section!
This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 2/11/2017.