Brunson made his professional MMA debut in May 2010 against John Bryant where he won by a rear-naked choke in under a minute. He then won his next five fights with none of them making it past 2:30 of the first round.
Strikeforce Brunson made his
Strikeforce debut on June 24, 2011, at Strikeforce Challengers: Fedor vs. Terry against undefeated Jeremy Hamilton. He won the fight via unanimous decision. In a quick turnaround, Brunson fought his second fight for Strikeforce just over one month after his debut. He faced
Lumumba Sayers on the undercard of
Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Henderson on July 30, 2011. He won the fight via submission in the first round. Brunson's next fight was on November 18, 2011, at Strikeforce Challengers: Britt vs. Sayers against Nate James. He won the fight via unanimous decision. He was scheduled to face
Ronaldo Souza on March 3, 2012, at
Strikeforce: Tate vs. Rousey. However, the Ohio State Athletic Commission denied his fight license based on an eye exam he had submitted. Brunson fought wearing contacts in all of his bouts, but Ohio has a rule against this. He immediately scheduled a
Lasik procedure and missed about six weeks. He later faced Souza on August 18, 2012, at
Strikeforce: Rousey vs. Kaufman and was defeated by KO at :41 of the 1st round.
The Ultimate Fighter Brunson was accepted to compete in
The Ultimate Fighter 17, but on the first day of filming he was pulled from the competition due to Showtime having yet to release him from his contract.
Ultimate Fighting Championship Brunson made his UFC debut replacing an injured
Karlos Vemola against
Chris Leben on December 29, 2012, at
UFC 155. Despite being a late replacement and heavy underdog, Brunson utilized his superior wrestling to defeat Leben via unanimous decision. He was expected to face
Ronny Markes on June 8, 2013, at
UFC on Fuel TV 10. However, the bout was scrapped on the day of the weigh in as Markes was involved in a traffic accident. While Markes was not seriously injured, the incident prevented him from competing. Brunson was expected to face
Yoel Romero on August 31, 2013, at
UFC 164 but was eventually forced off the card with an injury. He was expected to face
Antonio Braga Neto on November 6, 2013, at
UFC Fight Night 31. However, Neto pulled out of the bout citing an injury and was replaced by Brian Houston. Brunson won the fight in impressive fashion early, connecting with a head kick on Houston and then securing a rear-naked choke submission. The bout with Romero was rescheduled for January 15, 2014, at
UFC Fight Night 35. After winning the first two rounds, Brunson was dropped by a left hook and lost the fight via TKO due to elbows on the ground in the third round. Both fighters earned a $50,000
Fight of the Night bonus award. On February 15, 2014, it was announced that Brunson had signed a four-fight contract with UFC. Brunson was expected to face
Lorenz Larkin on August 2, 2014, at
UFC 176. After
UFC 176 was cancelled, Larkin/Brunson was rescheduled and eventually took place on August 30, 2014, at
UFC 177. Brunson won the fight via unanimous decision. Brunson was expected to face
Ed Herman on December 13, 2014, at
UFC on Fox 13. However, the bout was scrapped just hours before the fight, as Brunson was stricken with a stomach ailment. Subsequently, the bout with Herman was rescheduled and took place on January 31, 2015, at
UFC 183. Brunson won the fight via TKO in the first round. Brunson was expected to face
Krzysztof Jotko on June 20, 2015, at
UFC Fight Night 69. However, Brunson pulled out of the fight on June 9 citing a rib injury and was briefly replaced by
Uriah Hall. Three days after the booking, Hall was removed due to an alleged
visa issue. In turn, Jotko was removed from the card entirely. Brunson faced
Sam Alvey on August 8, 2015, at
UFC Fight Night 73. He won the fight via TKO in the first round. Brunson next faced
Roan Carneiro on February 21, 2016, at
UFC Fight Night 83. He won the fight via TKO, earning his third consecutive TKO stoppage in the first round. He was scheduled to face
Gegard Mousasi on July 9, 2016, at
UFC 200. However, he later was forced to pull out of the bout. Brunson faced
Uriah Hall on September 17, 2016, at
UFC Fight Night 94. Brunson won the fight via TKO in the first round after dropping Hall with a left hook and finishing him with a flurry of ground and pound. Brunson faced
Robert Whittaker on November 27, 2016, at
UFC Fight Night 101. He lost the back and forth fight via first-round TKO. Both participants were awarded a
Fight of the Night bonus. Brunson faced
Anderson Silva on February 11, 2017, at
UFC 208. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. 20 out of 24 media sources scored the fight in favor of Brunson. Brunson fought
Dan Kelly on June 11, 2017, at
UFC Fight Night 110. He won by knockout in the first round after dropping Kelly with a straight left and finishing him off with a barrage of ground and pound. Brunson faced
Lyoto Machida on October 28, 2017, at
UFC Fight Night 119. He won the fight via knockout in the first round. This win also earned him a
Performance of the Night bonus award. A rematch with
Ronaldo Souza took place on January 27, 2018, in the main event at
UFC on Fox 27. Brunson lost the fight via TKO in the first round. He was expected to face
Antônio Carlos Júnior on August 4, 2018, at
UFC 227. However, Brunson pulled out of the fight in early July citing an eye injury. Brunson faced
Israel Adesanya on November 3, 2018, at
UFC 230. He lost the fight via technical knockout in round one. Brunson faced
Elias Theodorou on May 4, 2019, at
UFC Fight Night 151. He won the fight by unanimous decision. He faced
Ian Heinisch on August 17, 2019, at
UFC 241. He won the fight by unanimous decision. In December 2019, Brunson announced on his social media that he had signed a new, six-fight contract with the UFC. Brunson was expected to face
Edmen Shahbazyan on March 7, 2020, at
UFC 248. However it was announced on February 20 that the bout had been rescheduled and would take place on April 11, 2020, at
UFC Fight Night: Overeem vs. Harris. Due to the
COVID-19 pandemic, the event was eventually postponed. The bout eventually was scheduled on August 1, 2020, at
UFC Fight Night: Brunson vs. Shahbazyan. He won the fight via technical knockout in round three. Brunson faced
Kevin Holland on March 20, 2021, at
UFC on ESPN 21. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Brunson faced
Darren Till on September 4, 2021, at
UFC Fight Night: Brunson vs. Till. He won the fight via rear-naked choke submission in round three. Brunson was scheduled to face
Jared Cannonier on January 22, 2022, at
UFC 270. However, for undisclosed reasons the bout was moved to
UFC 271 on February 12, 2022. He lost the fight via knockout in round two. Brunson stated that his next fight will be his final fight in mixed martial arts. Brunson was scheduled to face
Jack Hermansson on December 3, 2022, at
UFC on ESPN 42. However, Brunson withdrew due to an undisclosed injury and was replaced by
Roman Dolidze. Brunson faced
Dricus du Plessis on March 4, 2023, at
UFC 285. He lost the fight via technical knockout due to a corner stoppage at 4:59 of the second round. Brunson was scheduled to face
Roman Dolidze at
UFC 295 on November 11, 2023. On September 14, 2023, the fight was scrapped, as it was announced Brunson had parted ways with the UFC.
Professional Fighters League After parting ways with the UFC on October 5, 2023, it was announced that Brunson had signed a multi-fight deal with the
Professional Fighters League, and that he would be a participant in their 2024 season as a light heavyweight. Brunson made his PFL debut against
Ray Cooper III on November 24, 2023 at
PFL 10. At weigh-ins, Cooper came in at 186.8 pounds, .8 pounds over the limit, leading him to being fined a percentage of his purse which went to Brunson and the bout was held at a catchweight. Brunson won the fight by unanimous decision.
Global Fight League Brunson was scheduled to face
Omari Akhmedov in the inaugural Global Fight League event on May 24, 2025 at GFL 1. However, all GFL events were cancelled indefinitely. == Professional grappling career==