Tag: Cody Brundage

Cody Brundage vs. Julian Marquez prediction, pick, start time for UFC Fight Night 253

Cody Brundage and Julian Marquez need to get back on the winning track. Which middleweight has an edge in the UFC Vegas 103 co-feature?

[autotag]Cody Brundage[/autotag] and [autotag]Julian Marquez[/autotag] meet Saturday in the co-main event of UFC Fight Night 253 at UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Check out this quick breakdown of the matchup from MMA Junkie analyst Dan Tom. 

Last event: 5-0
UFC main cards, 2025: 15-10-1

Cody Brundage vs. Julian Marquez UFC Fight Night 253 preview

Brundage (10-6 MMA, 4-5 UFC) comes in looking for his first victory since December 2023, which was a first-round finish of Zach Reese. Since then, Brundage lost by submission to Bo Nickal, and recorded a no contest against Abdul Razak Alhassan to make for a frustrating 2024 campaign. … Marquez (9-5 MMA, 3-4 UFC) will be in search of his first victory since April 2021, which was a submission of Sam Alvey. Since, Marquez has dropped three straight, all by finish, to Gregory Rodrigues, Marc-Andre Barriault and Zach Reese.

Cody Brundage vs. Julian Marquez UFC Fight Night 253 expert pick, prediction

Despite my usual disdain for the UFC’s fetish with force-feeding middleweight features that nobody asked for down our throats, I actually feel bad for both Brundage and Marquez for the crap they’re getting in this spot.

Does a fight like Chepe Mariscal vs. Ricardo Ramos deserve this slot over them? Absolutely.

But that doesn’t change the fact that Brundage and Marquez (two unfairly maligned fighters, I might add) have nothing to do with this card’s format. Furthermore, this fight, for what it’s worth, should be an action-packed shit show from start to finish.

I suspect that Brundage gets off to a better start, but he could be in serious trouble if a finish fails to materialize. For that reason, I’ll biasedly pick an underrated Marquez to get back on track with a submission win in Round 2.

Cody Brundage vs. Julian Marquez UFC Fight Night 253 odds

The oddsmakers and the public are slightly favoring the older fighter, listing Marquez -122 and Allen +100 via FanDuel.

Cody Brundage vs. Julian Marquez UFC Fight Night 253 start time, how to watch

As the co-main event, Brundage and Marquez are expected to walk to the cage at approximately 8:40 p.m. ET. The fight will stream on ESPN+.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 253.

Cody Brundage wanted to get right, so took longer layoff ahead of first UFC co-main event

Starting with his fall 2020 fight on DWCS, Cody Brundage got basically permanently busy.

LAS VEGAS – Starting with his fall 2020 fight on DWCS, [autotag]Cody Brundage[/autotag] got basically permanently busy.

Brundage fought a dozen times in less than four years, and 10 of those, starting in September 2021, have been in the UFC. Like Indiana Jones said, “It’s not the years, honey – it’s the mileage.” And though he’s just into his 30s, Brundage has put plenty of mileage on in the past few years.

It warranted a longer break than he’d been accustomed to – coming up on eight months after a 37-second no contest when Abdul Razak Alhassan hit him with elbows to the back of the head. And to think, an eight-month layoff is standard for many fighters. For Brundage, it was a way to hit the reset button ahead of his next fight.

Brundage (10-6 MMA, 4-5 UFC) takes on Julian Marquez (9-5 MMA, 3-4 UFC) in a middleweight bout Saturday in the UFC Fight Night 253 (ESPN+) co-main event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

“I fought six times in 14 months from the time I made my (UFC) debut to my last fight. I think me and Kevin Holland were the most active guys in the UFC,” Brundage said Wednesday at a media day for the event. “I think sometimes the way to get out from a loss is to just push it and go find a win. And then other times, maybe you need to pull the reins a little bit, take a little break, get physically, mentally right and decide, ‘Is this what I want to keep doing?'”

Fortunately for Brundage, the answer came back affirmative and he knew the slightly extended time off could be just what the doc ordered.

“It was good. I have good people around. They’re like, ‘Hey, let’s chill six months to a year,'” Brundage said. “I think it’s been eight months since my last fight, and I really dove into coaching for those first few months and got to travel with some guys, and that was really important and good. It’s put me in a good place, mentally, physically, to come back and hopefully have a great performance.”

The road to his first UFC co-feature hasn’t necessarily been a smooth one for Brundage. He had a modest two-fight winning streak in 2022 that included a post-fight bonus award for a first-round knockout of Tresean Gore, but that was halted by a three-fight skid. Another two-fight streak included another bonus, but that momentum was halted with a UFC 300 loss to Bo Nickal.

The good news for Brundage is, all four of his UFC wins have been first-round finishes, so it’s not like he’s not making his mark. He’s a slight underdog against Marquez, but likes where he’s head’s at against an opponent he’s spent some time training with.

“We’re not best friends, but we’re friendly,” Brundage said. “I don’t wish anything bad upon Julian. We’re both in a spot where you can’t say no. I’m on the last fight of my contract, he’s on a three-fight losing streak, so when the UFC calls, you’ve got to say yes.

“I don’t know how it’s going to go. I’ve never fought someone that I trained with. I would imagine that he’s comfortable with knowing what I’m going to do and I’m comfortable knowing what he’s going to do, and we’ll see how it plays out in the fight. We trained together for an extended period of time. We both know what we bring to the table, and I think it’ll be a good fight.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 253.

Abdul Razak Alhassan wants UFC rematch with Cody Brundage to ‘put a f*cking hole in his face’

Abdul Razak Alhassan is still fuming in the aftermath of his no contest with Cody Brundage at UFC Denver, and wants to run it back.

[autotag]Abdul Razak Alhassan[/autotag] is still fuming in the aftermath of his no contest with [autotag]Cody Brundage[/autotag] at UFC on ESPN 59, and he wants to run it back.

After Alhassan (12-6 MMA, 6-6 UFC) rocked Brundage (10-6 MMA, 4-5 UFC) early in the first round of their middleweight bout on Saturday at Ball Arena in Denver, he followed up with an onslaught of strikes, two of which were deemed as illegal and to the back of the head by referee Dan Miragliotta.

Brundage was unable to continue after his five-minute recovery period, and the fight was ruled a no contest. That came much to the dismay of Alhassan, who insists there was no more than one illegal shot in the sequence, and said Brundage turned his head into it while fishing for a desperation takedown.

“I’m still pissed off about it,” Alhassan told John Morgan of Grind City Media. “Of course in that kind of situation where he’s turning and I’m trying to get my shots in – and even when I watched the video, it was only one time. And even that one was questionable when it hit him. I feel that guy, sorry for my curse, he just became a p*ssy. He decided, ‘I don’t want to fight any more. I don’t want to do it.'”

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Alhassan, 38, claims that he saw one of Brundage’s coaches from Elevation Fight Team urge him to choose not to continue during the recovery window, but not identify who. He ultimately thinks Brundage was trying to work himself into a disqualification win, citing what happened in his September bout with Jacob Malkoun at UFC Fight Night 228.

According to Alhassan, he is contemplating filing an appeal with the Colorado commission to have the no contest overturned to a win, but has not made any final decisions.

More than anything, Alhassan just wants to fight, and he will take any opponent on any date. He explained pre-fight that he has much rage to get out of his system after personal issues, and if he can get a rematch with Brundage, he has no shortage of motivation.

“I really want to contest this so bad (with the commission), but even if I don’t contest it, I want him back right away,” Alhassan said. “Let’s run it back and put a f*cking hole in his face.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 59.

UFC on ESPN 59 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: 2024 total passes $4 million

The UFC has now issued more than $4 million in Promotional Guidelines Compliance to its fighters in 2024 after UFC Denver.

DENVER – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 59 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $180,500.

The program, a comprehensive plan that includes outfitting requirements, media obligations and other items under the fighter code of conduct, replaces the previous payments made under the UFC Athlete Outfitting Policy.

UFC on ESPN 59 took place at Ball Arena in Colorado. The card aired on ESPN and streamed on ESPN+.

The full UFC on ESPN 59 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

[autotag]Rose Namajunas[/autotag]: $16,000
def. [autotag]Tracy Cortez[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Muslim Salikhov[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Santiago Ponzinibbio[/autotag]: $16,000

[autotag]Jean Silva[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Drew Dober[/autotag]: $21,000

[autotag]Gabriel Bonfim[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Ange Loosa[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Julian Erosa[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Christian Rodriguez[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Abdul Razak Alhassan[/autotag]: $11,000
vs. [autotag]Cody Brundage[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Charles Johnson[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Joshua Van[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Jasmine Jasudavicius[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Fatima Kline[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Montel Jackson[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Da’Mon Blackshear[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Luana Santos[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Mariya Agapova[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Andre Petroski[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Josh Fremd[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Evan Elder[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Darrius Flowers[/autotag]: $4,500

Under the UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance program’s payout tiers, which appropriate the money generated by Venum’s multi-year sponsorship with the UFC, fighters are paid based on their total number of UFC bouts, as well as Zuffa-era WEC fights (January 2007 and later) and Zuffa-era Strikeforce bouts (April 2011 and later). Fighters with 1-3 bouts receive $4,000 per appearance; 4-5 bouts get $4,500; 6-10 bouts get $6,000; 11-15 bouts earn $11,000; 16-20 bouts pocket $16,000; and 21 bouts and more get $21,000. Additionally, champions earn $42,000 while title challengers get $31,000.

In addition to experience-based pay, UFC fighters will receive in perpetuity royalty payments amounting to 20-59 percent of any UFC merchandise sold that bears their likeness, according to officials.

Full 2024 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:

Year-to-date total: $4,129,000
2023 total: $8,188,000
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $26,866,000

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 59.

UFC on ESPN 59 fighters took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay, a program that continued after the UFC’s deal with Venum.

UFC on ESPN 59 results: Abdul Razak Alhassan’s illegal elbows to Cody Brundage lead to early no contest

A few strikes from Abdul Razak Alhassan went to the back of Cody Brundage’s head, leading to a quick no contest at UFC on ESPN 59.

The UFC on ESPN 59 main card opener between [autotag]Abdul Razak Alhassan[/autotag] and [autotag]Cody Brundage[/autotag] ended quickly, but not in the manner anyone anticipated.

On paper, the middleweight bout promised to produce an explosive result as the dangerous striker Alhassan (12-6 MMA, 6-6 UFC) clashed styles with the aggressive wrestling of Brundage (10-6 MMA, 4-5 UFC). Indeed, the fight ended just 37 seconds into the fight, but as a no contest due to accidental illegal elbows.

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After referee Dan Miragliotta signalled for the fight to begin, the fighters touched gloves, and Brundage immediately shot in for a takedown. Alhassan countered with hard punches and elbows, rocking Brundage early. Brundage held on to the single leg as he scrambled to complete the takedown, trying to avoid damaging blows.

A few of Alhassan’s strikes went to the back of the head, for which he received warnings from Miragliotta. After another illegal shot landed in the heat of the intense moment, the referee paused the fight. Brundage was given time to recover, but could not continue.

Alhassan’s elbows were deemed accidental, likely because he was moving and actively defending a takedown while landing, and therefore the fight was declared a no contest.

Both fighters entered the contest seeking to avenge losses in their previous bouts.

Up-to-the-minute UFC on ESPN 59 results include:

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 59.

Abdul Razak Alhassan vs. Cody Brundage no contest at UFC on ESPN 59: Best photos

Check out the best photos from Abdul Razak Alhassan’s no contest with Cody Brundage at UFC on ESPN 59.

Check out the best photos from [autotag]Abdul Razak Alhassan[/autotag]’s no contest with [autotag]Cody Brundage[/autotag] at UFC on ESPN 59 at Ball Arena in Denver. (Fight and venue photos by Ron Chenoy, USA Today Sports)

Cody Brundage vs. Abdul Razak Alhassan prediction, pick, start time, odds for UFC on ESPN 59

Cody Brundage vs. Abdul Razak Alhassan could produce an explosive finish to kick off the UFC on ESPN 59 main card. Who will it be?

[autotag]Cody Brundage[/autotag] and [autotag]Abdul Razak Alhassan[/autotag] meet Saturday on the main card of UFC on ESPN 59 from Ball Arena in Denver. Check out this quick breakdown of the matchup from MMA Junkie analyst Dan Tom. 

Last event: 2-2
UFC main cards, 2024: 54-51-2

Cody Brundage vs. Abdul Razak Alhassan UFC on ESPN 59 preview

With a win here, Brundage (10-6 MMA, 4-5 UFC) will avenge a loss to the highly-touted Bo Nickal, and also get back to .500 in his UFC tenure. Prior to the UFC 300 loss to Nickal, Brundage built steam with back-to-back first-round submissions of Jacob Malkoun and Zach Reese. … Alhassan (12-6 MMA, 6-6 UFC) is also coming off a loss to a rising middleweight star in Joe Pyfer. Alhassan has traded wins and losses over his past four fights as he has struggled to build momentum.

Cody Brundage vs. Abdul Razak Alhassan UFC on ESPN 59 expert pick, prediction

Despite having a perfect main-card opener like Drew Dober vs. Jean Silva, the UFC matchmakers opted to kick off this high-elevation main card with a couple of middleweights with suspect stamina and staying power.

Although this fight between Alhassan and Brundage is favored to finish inside the distance, I feel like this fight could easily turn into a slow and grueling slop fest if these guys can’t get to their games early.

I don’t disagree with Alhassan being favored and could see him getting a finish over Brundage early given that he’s the cleaner striker. That said, I suspect the wrestling dynamic could provide Brundage with some equalizers that help open up his offense.

You can’t be too confident backing either party here, but I’ll reluctantly take a flier on the underdog Brundage to force a stoppage by strikes in round 3.

Cody Brundage vs. Abdul Razak Alhassan UFC on ESPN 59 odds

The oddsmakers and the public are siding with the former welterweight, listing Alhassan -170 and Brundage +138 via FanDuel.

Cody Brundage vs. Abdul Razak Alhassan UFC on ESPN 59 start time, how to watch

As the featured bout, Brundage and Alhassan are expected to make their walks to the cage at approximately 10:05 p.m. ET (8:05 p.m. local time in Denver). The fight airs on ESPN and streams live on ESPN+.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 59.

Cody Brundage not intimidated by Bo Nickal: ‘People think he’s the second coming of Jesus Christ’

Cody Brundage is the biggest underdog at UFC 300 – and the biggest underdog in UFC history. He’s not intimidated.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Cody Brundage[/autotag] is the biggest underdog at UFC 300. For that matter, he’s the biggest underdog in UFC history.

But as far as Brundage (10-5 MMA, 4-4 UFC) is concerned, ahead of the biggest opportunity of his career in an opening spot on the main card, Bo Nickal (5-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) might be a big middleweight prospect – but he’s still just another man.

“The odds are what they are, but sometimes I feel like it’s just more a narrative of what people think,” Brundage said at Wednesday’s media day ahead of the card at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. “At the end of the day, Bo Nickal’s never been hit – so for him to be that kind of favorite, it just seems insane to me. Obviously I’m a little biased, but that seems pretty wild. I know people think he’s like the second coming of Jesus Christ in MMA, but I just don’t see it.”

Online betting odds for Nickal range from 20-1 to 30-1. To put that in perspective, Amanda Nunes was around a 12-1 favorite when she was upset by Julianna Peña in 2021.

You can watch Brundage’s full media day session in the video above.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 300.

Cody Brundage thinks main card spot vs. Bo Nickal at UFC 300 is appropriate

Cody Brundage defended his placement on the UFC 300 main card against Bo Nickal, who has just five MMA fights.

[autotag]Cody Brundage[/autotag] is in an interesting position.

He’s about a week out from the biggest opportunity of his MMA career: a spot on the UFC 300 main card against a highly touted wrestling standout who will go into the fight as one of the biggest betting favorites in UFC history.

Brundage (10-5 MMA, 4-4 UFC) opens the UFC 300 main card at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas against Bo Nickal (5-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC), who is about a 25-1 favorite in the middleweight fight – and can be found as much as 30-1 at one online sportsbook.

But he also thinks even if he pulls off what would be a historic upset, the focus still will be on Nickal.

“No matter what, you won’t ever prove those people wrong (who think I don’t deserve it),” Brundage told MMA Junkie Radio. “I’ll go knock out Bo Nickal in the first round and everybody will be like, ‘Well, Bo was just too green. He didn’t have the experience. It was a fluke. There’ll be a ton of reasons. It won’t be that ‘Cody Brundage is way better than we thought … Cody Brundage is the next champ. Cody Brundage is’ all these things that they’re saying about Bo Nickal now. It’ll be more, ‘Well, it was a fluke’ or ‘Bo Nickal isn’t as good as we thought.’ I kind of am at peace with that. What other people say and the odds and things like that, it doesn’t really bother me. It doesn’t really influence my motivation.”

Brundage acknowledged the elite college wrestler is the reason their fight is on the main card, and that his popularity in his prior athletic pursuits help the cause of his placement on the pay-per-view ahead of the likes of former champion Jiri Prochazka, former champ Aljamain Sterling and the UFC debut of two-time PFL winner and two-time Olympic gold medalist Kayla Harrison.

Their placement has drawn the ire of a segment of the MMA fan base that thinks a card as prestigious as UFC 300, with as much star power as it has, features matchups more deserving of a main card slot. Even UFC lead play-by-play voice Jon Anik said the interest in Nickal seems to bear it out, and Brundage seems to agree.

“I know I’m on the main card. I could joke and be like, ‘You know, I carried Bo Nickal to the UFC 300 main card.’ But I know that’s not the case,” Brundage said. “I know he’s the reason we’re on the main card. I’m happy to be on the main card, obviously. All the fans complaining, at the end of the day, what that means is you get one fight that you really want to watch (for free), because if our fight sucks so bad it shouldn’t be on the main card, that means one fight that you think should be on the main card, you’re going to get for free.”

Brundage said Nickal might be experiencing the same phenomenon recently seen when Alex Pereira made the transition from elite kickboxer to MMA. He quickly rose up to beat Israel Adesanya for the middleweight title and now holds the light heavyweight belt.

Pereira headlines UFC 300 in a 205-pound title defense against former champ Jamahal Hill.

“I do think (Nickal) has a lot of star power,” Brundage said. “… Bo’s kind of similar to (Pereira). He has a ton of prestige and it’s a big following from his success in college wrestling, and those guys are going to tune in and watch him when he’s fighting. He had a huge following, and that always is what the UFC cares about. They want eyes on their pay-per-view. They want people to buy.

“Kayla Harrison-Holly Holm, that’s a great fight – former champ vs. other organization’s champ and Olympic champion. But if you ask me who’s going to get more eyes, Kayla Harrison or Bo Nickal, I think it’s probably going to be Bo Nickal. At the end of the day, it’s a business decision, and I think the lineup they put up for the main card is what they think would get the most buys.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 300.

UFC 300 fight card bout order adjusted slightly

Bo Nickal’s UFC 300 card placement has changed ever so slightly.

The UFC 300 bout order has been tweaked ever so slightly, but the change involves perhaps the most highly-debated initial placement.

During the UFC Fight Night 239 broadcast Saturday, the promotion announced [autotag]Bo Nickal[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Cody Brundage[/autotag] will now open the April 13 main card at T-Mobile Arena. [autotag]Charles Oliveira[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Arman Tsarukyan[/autotag] will follow directly thereafter.

IT’S BRACKET MADNESS: Enter USA TODAY’s NCAA tournament bracket contest for a chance at $1 million prize.

The change comes seven days after the promotion first revealed the full fight card bout order during the UFC 299 main card broadcast March 9. The initial order had Nickal (5-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) vs. Brundage (10-5 MMA, 4-4 UFC) above Oliveira (34-9 MMA, 22-9 UFC) vs. Tsarukyan (21-3 MMA, 8-2 UFC), which sparked much discussion and debate among fans.

Brundage took the influx of online messages in stride, as he tweeted “Y’all mother f*ckers know I just work here, right?” Meanwhile, Nickal voiced confidence in the placement by saying his presence increases pay-per-view buys.

Regardless, Nickal, Brundage, Oliveira, and Tsarukyan will still be on the paid portion of the event, just a little earlier.

With the change, the UFC 300 fight card includes:

MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view, 10 p.m. ET)

  • Champion Alex Pereira vs. Jamahal Hill – for light heavyweight title
  • Champion Zhang Weili vs. Yan Xiaonan – for women’s strawweight title
  • Champion Justin Gaethje vs. Max Holloway – for “BMF” title
  • Charles Oliveira vs. Arman Tsarukyan
  • Cody Brundage vs. Bo Nickal

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN/ESPN+, 6 p.m. ET)

  • Jiri Prochazka vs. Aleksandar Rakic
  • Calvin Kattar vs. Aljamain Sterling
  • Kayla Harrison vs. Holly Holm
  • Diego Lopes vs. Sodiq Yusuff
  • Renato Moicano vs. Jalin Turner
  • Jessica Andrade vs. Marina Rodriguez
  • Bobby Green vs. Jim Miller
  • Deiveson Figueiredo vs. Cody Garbrandt

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 300.