[autotag]Cody Brundage[/autotag]’s collegiate wrestling career had come to an end.
He needed a new direction – a new life pursuit that would get him up in the morning with the same passion that made him a two-time NCAA Division 2 tournament qualifier at Newberry College. Staying with his skillset, Brundage stuck in the wrestling realm – shifting from competitor to coach. It was a natural fit.
But while he was part of a team, the feeling he got from coaching wasn’t wasn’t the same as when he was an athlete competing for a goal. Eventually, Brundage walked through the doors of a Michigan MMA gym, with little to no knowledge of the sport, to finally fill the void.
Brundage laughs as he reflects back to his uneducated thoughts as an MMA noob. He showed up at the gym each day just to hit things and work out. That’s all he thought the sport was about.
One day when Brundage was hitting pads, he received a offer for a little help from a woman named Amanda Cooper. While he accepted the offer, he wasn’t sure why.
It was a decision which changed his life.
“I’m like, ‘Who is this 130-pound girl who is going to hold pads for me?'” Brundage laughed, during a recent interview with MMA Junkie. “Long story short, I figured out who she was and I felt like a huge jackass.”
Over the years, Cooper helped turn Brundage from an amateur fighter into a professional. As the duo progressed, she slowly turned from “the girl who offered to hold pads” to his wife, Amanda Brundage.
“Since the beginning, she’s always been in my corner,” Brundage said. “She’s always been supporting me. Before we were dating or anything, she was helping me with my boxing. She used to always joke, ‘You’re going to owe me two percent because you’re going to make it. You’re something special.’ Now, we ended up getting married, so I owe her 100 percent.”
Brundage competed in the UFC from 2016-18. The highlight of the run was a TKO win over Angela Magana on home turf in Detroit at UFC 218. She’s still fighting, and hopes to return to the UFC one day.
As for Cody (6-0), he’s right on the brink. Tuesday, he will fight at Dana White’s Contender Series 31 against UFC developmental deal fighter William Knight in a light heavyweight bout.
If Cody secures a UFC contract by impressing the promotional brass, he and Amanda will become the third husband-wife combination to make it to the UFC. While people may view MMA fighter marriages as an oddity, Cody sees it as an advantage.
“It’s great having someone who knows your trials and tribulations in this sport,” Cody said. “It’s not an easy life when you’re trying to make it. She’s been super supportive the whole time. She knows. She knows what it’s like when you’re cutting weight. She knows what it’s like when you have a tough fight and you’re stressed out. She understands all that, which, a lot of people don’t get that. I’m very fortunate that way.
“I see some people in the sport, my buddies, and friends. It’s tough for them to be successful because they don’t have that support at home. Because it’s such a foreign thing, it’s hard for people to understand. I don’t ever have to deal with that and I’m very lucky.”
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Should Cody secure his UFC deal, it won’t be the only major life change the couple will face. In addition to a recent move out to Colorado, Amanda is pregnant with their first child, a girl.
While having a child is a major decision, it was accompanied by a difficult choice for Amanda. She had to put her MMA aspirations on hold for a little while – despite being as close to returning to the UFC as ever.
“She was getting some offers to get back in the UFC,” Cody said. “But then, we figured out we were pregnant the day we got here so she couldn’t accept (the fight offers). … Yeah, she’s kind of taken on full mom role. She’s reading all the books and trying to get as informed as she can. It’s been really good. I think she’s super happy now.
“When she first figured it out, it was tough because she was right there on the doorstep to get back in. She’s so young and we talked about it a lot. After she’s done and we have the child, she’s going to get back to training and make a comeback at it as well. She’s looking forward to that. We’re in a good place now.”
The stakes are high when not only your personal future is on the line, but also that of your family. With the timing of his impending family addition, Cody feels both an additional sense of pressure and an extra layer of motivation.
“You want to give the kids everything that you have,” Cody said. “I was given everything my parents worked really hard for – to make sure I didn’t have to struggle as a kid. I want to be able to do the same thing for my daughter. The goal is still the same, right? Whether we’re having a kid or not, I want to be in the UFC. I want to make it. There’s more motivation. There’s a little more pressure but the goal is still the same.”
Given Amanda’s pregnancy, she won’t be in Cody’s corner Tuesday – but she’ll be there in spirit. However, she will be in Las Vegas watching the fight with Cody’s friends.
“I’ve got a couple of buddies and friends (coming out) including Collin Anglin, who is on Contender two weeks after me,” Cody said. “He’s going to fly out with her. It’s going to be the first fight she’s not in my corner, so I know that’s going to be tough for both of us. Collin is going to be there just to make sure she doesn’t lose her mind. I’m going to meet up with them afterward, and hopefully, we’ll have something to celebrate.”
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