Brunson was a competitive cheerleader and wrestler at John T. Hoggard High School in Wilmington, North Carolina, under coach Dan Willis.

He was a three-time NCAA Division II All-American wrestler for the University of North Carolina at Pembroke.

[10] Prior to when he finished college, he immediately turned his attention to mixed martial arts.

Brunson was inspired by his high school classmate Shelly Johnson to pursue a career in fighting.

[10] Brunson made his professional MMA debut in May 2010 against John Bryant where he won by a rear-naked choke in under a minute.

[14] Brunson's next fight was on November 18, 2011, at Strikeforce Challengers: Britt vs. Sayers against Nate James.

However, the Ohio State Athletic Commission denied his fight license based on an eye exam he had submitted.

[16] He later faced Souza on August 18, 2012, at Strikeforce: Rousey vs. Kaufman and was defeated by KO at :41 of the 1st round.

[17] 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.

[19] Despite being a late replacement and heavy underdog, Brunson utilized his superior wrestling to defeat Leben via unanimous decision.

[22] Brunson was expected to face Yoel Romero on August 31, 2013, at UFC 164[23] but was eventually forced off the card with an injury.

[24] He was expected to face Antonio Braga Neto on November 6, 2013, at UFC Fight Night 31.

[26] Brunson won the fight in impressive fashion early, connecting with a head kick on Houston and then securing a rear-naked choke submission.

[37] Brunson was expected to face Krzysztof Jotko on June 20, 2015, at UFC Fight Night 69.

[38] However, Brunson pulled out of the fight on June 9 citing a rib injury and was briefly replaced by Uriah Hall.

[46] 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.

[54] 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.

[58] A rematch with Ronaldo Souza took place on January 27, 2018, in the main event at UFC on Fox 27.

[68] In December 2019, Brunson announced on his social media that he had signed a new, six-fight contract with the UFC.

[70] 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.

[88] 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.