Derek Brunson currently finds himself very close to a title shot as he's set to fight Jared Cannonier at UFC 271. The fight is currently a backup in case Israel Adesanya or Robert Whittaker are forced out of the main event.

The North Carolina native was originally supposed to fight at UFC 270 but the fight was pushed back so they could be the backup. That wasn't something that bothered Derek Brunson, at all.

“They wanted a backup for the title fight,” Brunson told MMA Junkie and other reporters at UFC 271 media day. “Normally I would care, but I got to spend 10 more days at home with the family so I wasn’t arguing too much. I got to eat some macaroni and extra food around the holidays.

“Nobody has told me anything, but I figured I would have been first up. I was just focused on my fight at hand because I figured my fight would go through, both fights would go through, so that’s how I’ve been training.”

Derek Brunson is expected to be next in line for a title shot if he beats Jared Cannonier. Things could get tricky if Robert Whittaker wins and the UFC opts for a trilogy between the two.

“I’m going to sit and wait for a title fight, for sure,” Brunson said. “I’ve done everything I need to do in this division and yeah, that’s that.”

Keeping in line with doing ‘everything' Derek Brunson doesn't plan on fighting too long after UFC 271. If things go right, he only wants to fight one more time after Jared Cannonier.

“Honestly, I plan on fighting two more times,” Brunson said. “I feel like I’m lucky and blessed to fight in the UFC 20 times and I’m super smart. I’ve got a good brain on my head. So, I don’t want to fight until I can’t fight no more. …That’s all I’m thinking about right now. Beating Cannonier, beating Izzy, and riding out.”