UFC
Derek Brunson suffered fractured jaw in UFC Fight Night 35 loss to Yoel Romero
Jan 16, 2014 - 7:20:33 PM Derek Brunson suffered fractured jaw in UFC Fight Night 35 loss to Yoel Romero

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

Derek Brunson was just a few minutes away from his third straight win in the UFC on Wednesday night, but unfortunately for him he was in the cage with one of the most violent 185 lb. fighters in the game in Yoel Romero.

Brunson was caught by several major strikes in the third round, ultimately getting knocked down and battered on the ground before the ref finally stopped the fight on a series of elbows to the body. He had entirely stopped fighting back, and for good reason, as UFC President Dana White revealed after the event that Brunson had broken his jaw in the fight.

Just went to the hospital to see @DerekBrunsonMMA he has a fractured jaw. He is waiting to have surgery.

— Dana White (@danawhite) January 16, 2014

@callum_rod @DerekBrunsonMMA I was worried about his ribs too but they are ok. Tough dude

— Dana White (@danawhite) January 16, 2014

The two fighters took home an extra $50,000 each for their fight, as it was dubbed "Fight of the Night" at the post fight press conference.

Penick's Analysis: Brunson was looking real solid through the first ten minutes of that fight, but you've got to keep Romero off his game the full 15 minutes it seems. Romero was given an opening in the third round, he took advantage of it, and hurt Brunson badly. No shame in the loss, because Romero's capable of doing that to anyone if he can connect, and a lot of people came away still impressed by Brunson in the loss. Hopefully he recovers quickly from that damage and isn't stuck out for too long.