Derek Brunson fractures jaw in UFC Fight Night 35 loss to Yoel Romero

DULUTH, Ga. – It was a rough night for Derek Brunson, save for about 10 minutes on the front end of things and an extra paycheck coming his way.

Brunson (11-3 MMA, 2-1 UFC) put together a solid first two rounds against Yoel Romero (7-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) on Wednesday night and was leading on all three judges’ scorecards heading into the third round. But Romero mounted a comeback and stopped Brunson for a TKO win.

But if the loss wasn’t bad enough to swallow, Brunson suffered a broken jaw in the fight and headed to a local hospital for surgery.

UFC President Dana White told MMAjunkie at the post-event news conference for UFC Fight Night 35 that he wasn’t yet sure the status of Brunson’s jaw.

“That’s what I heard, too, while he was still in the octagon. He’s been transported (to the hospital),” White said.

But the UFC boss, after leaving the arena, tweeted that he had visited Brunson in the hospital, and the middleweight did indeed have a broken jaw and was headed into surgery.

It was not clear when in the fight the injury occurred.

UFC Fight Night 35 took place at Arena at Gwinnett Center in Duluth, Ga., just north of Atlanta. The main card, including Brunson vs. Romero, aired on FOX Sports 1 following prelims on that network and UFC Fight Pass.

Brunson was a sizable underdog to Romero, an Olympic wrestler from Cuba. But in the first two rounds, it was Brunson controlling the fight – including landing several takedowns. But in the third round, Romero came out gunning for a finish.

He said after the fight that he knew he was down two rounds, so getting a stoppage was the only way he was going to stay unbeaten in the UFC, where he now has three knockout wins. Romero landed some solid punches midway through the third, and with Brunson’s mouthpiece on the canvas, Romero landed some big bombs on the ground and finished Brunson with vicious elbows to the midsection.

“I’m advancing and learning all the time – mostly learning,” Romero said. “I knew I had to keep moving and that a fight is never over.  I could tell he didn’t like getting hit, so I felt eventually if I could land some shots, I would finish the fight.”

If there’s one consolation prize at the end of a hard night that ended in the hospital, it’s that Brunson and Romero got the “Fight of the Night” bonus. So maybe an extra $50,000 will take a little of the sting off of things for Brunson, who suffered his first loss in the UFC.

For complete coverage of UFC Fight Night 35, stay tuned to the UFC Events section of the site.

(Pictured: Derek Brunson and Yoel Romero)