Derek Brunson has issued a statement after suffering a nasty knockout loss to Jared Cannonier on the main card of tonight’s UFC 271 event.

Brunson (23-8 MMA) had entered the contest sporting a five-fight winning streak, his latest being a submission victory over Darren Till. The 38-year-old’s last loss came against reigning middleweight champion Israel Adesanya in November of 2018.

Meanwhile, Jared Cannonier (15-5 MMA) had gone 4-1 over his last five Octagon appearances ahead of tonight’s UFC 271 event. ‘The Killa Gorilla’ had last competed in August of 2021, where he defeated Kelvin Gastelum by way of decision.

Tonight’s Cannonier vs. Brunson contest proved to be the story of two rounds. ‘Blonde Brunson’ nearly scored a finish in round one after knocking down ‘The Killa Gorilla’ and locking in a rear-naked choke. However, the horn sounded seconds after securing the submission and thus we went to round two. In the second frame Jared Cannonier was able to land a nasty standing elbow that had Derek Brunson in all sorts of trouble. From there he proceeded to put Derek unconscious with some brutal elbows on the ground (see that here).

Official UFC 271 Result: Jared Cannonier def. Derek Brunson via KO in Round 2

Shortly following the crushing defeat, Brunson took to Twitter with the following statement for his fans.

“Made a title push. Number 3 vs 4 in the world. I came up short. Life lessons. I’m all good, sad but life will give you theses moments. I’ll pick myself up for one more fight. Blessings all 🙏🏾”

Who would you like to see Derek Brunson fight in his final Octagon appearance? Share your thoughts in the comment section PENN Nation!