A more patient Derek Brunson picked up a decision win over Elias Theodorou at UFC Ottawa.
Elias Theodorou was undefeated at 8-0 heading into TUF Nations: Canada vs. Australia in 2014. The Canadian won both of his fights on the show and his first three fights in the UFC. Current light heavyweight title contender Thiago Santos handed Theodorou his first career loss in 2015, but he’s bounced back with five wins in his next six fights. The Invicta FC Ring Boy is on a three-fight win streak, most recently defeating Eryk Anders.
Derek Brunson has been in the UFC since 2012, winning seven of his first eight fights with the only loss coming to top middleweight Yoel Romero. After knocking out the last four fighters of that streak, Brunson faced then-contender Robert Whittaker, losing by first-round knockout. After a controversial decision loss to Anderson Silva in his next appearance, Brunson knocked out both Lyoto Machida and Dan Kelly. Since then, he’s fallen to Jacare Souza and Israel Adesanya by knockout.
Derek Brunson wasted zero time, getting a trip takedown on the Canadian early. Brunson then got his back, and nearly got the rear-naked-choke, however, Elias escaped and got back to his feet, where the rest of the first round was contested. Elias would attempt to use leg kicks to keep Brunson off of him. Brunson still was pushing the pressure and had bigger moments through the first five minutes.
After a pretty entertaining first round, we had a not as fun second round. Elias still attempted to use his unorthodox movement and leg kicks to rack up points and strikes. Brunson, on the other hand, struggled with his movement and didn’t get off many strikes, outside of going to the body kick a couple of times. Overall, neither fighter pushed the pressure in the second round.
The third round featured Derek Brunson’s best WWE impression, picking up Elias early and slamming him down after walking around the Octagon. However, Elias would find his way back to his feet not much longer, and would continue his strategy of the previous two rounds. Both fighters were visibly gassed in the third, and as a result, didn’t land many shots. In the end, we went to a decision.
Derek Brunson def. Elias Theodorou by Unanimous Decision (29-28 x2, 30-27)
