Prior to their matchup at UFC Fight Night 151 in Ottawa on Saturday, Elias Theodorou promised to teach Derek Bruson the "difference between chess and checkers." The rising middleweight contender was hoping his marquee win in the division would come against Brunson, and his strategy was to outlast him and take the fight to the later rounds.
Well, the fight went all three rounds, but it didn't go Theodorou's way at all. In a match that featured very little excitement, it was pretty much Brunson the entire way. He was aggressive early on, as Theodorou had expected, but an opportunity never really arose for the challenger.
The single best moment in the fight came midway through the third round when Brunson, in a show of strength, lifted Theodorou completely off the mat and bodyslammed. A visibly gassed Theodorou only responded with some unorthodox, weak strike attempts.
It was Brunson's first win since he lost to Israel Adesanya at UFC 230 in November 2018. While you could hear the crowd growing restless in the background, what did you think of the Brunson-Theodorou match?