Derek Brunson: By the Numbers

Derek Brunson has made himself a mainstay in the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s middleweight division, even if he has yet to sniff the upper reaches of a weight class currently ruled by Michael Bisping.

Brunson will draw his first headlining assignment opposite onetime light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida in the UFC Fight Night 119 main event this Saturday at the Geraldo Jose de Almeida Gymnasium in Sao Paulo, Brazil. A win there could provide the Jackson-Wink MMA representative with the signature piece his resume lacks. Brunson has won six of his past eight bouts and owns an 8-3 record in the UFC that was highlighted by a five-fight winning streak between Aug. 30, 2014 and Sept. 17, 2016. He last competed at UFC Fight Night 110 in June, when he knocked out four-time Olympian Daniel Kelly 1:16 into the first round of their encounter in Auckland, New Zealand.

As Brunson prepares for his three-round clash with the returning Machida, here are some of the numbers that have come to define him:

2: Post-fight performance bonuses earned since joining the Ultimate Fighting Championship roster in late 2012. Ironically, both were netted in defeat. Brunson was awarded $50,000 “Fight of the Night” bonuses in losses to Yoel Romero and Robert Whittaker.

3: Professional wins by submission. All three resulted in rear-naked chokes.

4: Appearances in Strikeforce. Brunson posted a 3-1 record inside the Scott Coker-led promotion, an August 2012 knockout loss to Ronaldo Souza his only misstep.

6:32: Minutes per fight in the UFC. According to FightMetric, that ranks as the fourth-shortest average fight time in the organization among active middleweights, trailing only Vitor Belfort (5:02), Thiago Santos (5:25) and Luke Rockhold (6:27).

9: Consecutive victories to start his career. Brunson cut his teeth on the regional scene in North Carolina, Florida and Rhode Island before linking arms with Strikeforce.

10: Wins by knockout or technical knockout. His list of victims includes the aforementioned Kelly, two-time Ring of Combat champion Uriah Hall, American Top Team’s Roan Carneiro, former Maximum Fighting Championship titleholder Sam Alvey and “The Ultimate Fighter 3” finalist Ed Herman.

13: First-round finishes to his credit. Brunson has stopped opponents in 14, 36, 41, 48, 52, 67 and 76 seconds.

32: Percentage of takedown attempts completed -- a surprisingly low number when considering his status as a three time NCAA All-American wrestler at the University of North Carolina-Pembroke.

33: Years of age. Brunson was born on Jan. 4, 1984 in Wilmington, North Carolina. “Terms of Endearment” was the No. 1 movie at the domestic box office at the time.

166: Total strikes by which Brunson has outlanded his 11 opponents in the UFC, including shutouts against Carneiro (27-0), Herman (11-0) and Brian Houston (1-0). Only Whittaker, Romero and Chris Leben have managed to outstrike him inside the Octagon.