5 Things You Might Not Know About Cody Brundage

While Cody Brundage may never rise to the contender level, he can certainly deepen the much-needed Ultimate Fighting Championship middle class.

The 30-year-old Dana White’s Contender Series alum will seek his third win in four outings when he faces Abdul Razak Alhassan in a UFC on ESPN 59 middleweight feature this Saturday at Ball Arena in Denver. Brundage has put together a 4-5 record since he joined the UFC roster almost three years ago. He last competed at UFC 300, where he tapped to a rear-naked choke from undefeated super prospect Bo Nickal in the second round of their April 13 altercation. It was just the second submission loss—Rodolfo Vieira was responsible for the other—in his 16 pro bouts.

As Brundage approaches his forthcoming battle with Alhassan at 185 pounds, here are five things you might not know about him:

1. Odds were stacked against him at the start.

Brundage was born on May 16, 1994 in Chapin, South Carolina—a small town of less than 2,000 people in the central part of The Palmetto State. He was a four-year letterman on the wrestling team at Chapin High School, where he won three region championships, reached a state final and compiled a 128-22 career mark.

2. His talents did not go unnoticed.

Exploits in the singlet took Brundage to Newberry College in Newberry, Tennessee, where he was a two-time national qualifier at the Division II school. He racked up 96 victories—seventh-most in the program’s history at the time—and was selected as team captain.

3. He twice struck gold on the regional level.

Brundage made his professional mixed martial arts debut at the age of 24 in 2019, won his first five fights and became a two-division titleholder in the Michigan-based Lights Out Championship organization. He captured the company’s middleweight crown with a five-round unanimous decision over Erick Lozano at LOC 6 on Dec. 14, 2019, then laid claim to the light heavyweight championship with a first-round arm-triangle choke submission of Lozano in their LOC 7 rematch two months later.

4. Expertise surrounds him.

The South Carolina native operates out of the Factory X camp fronted by Marc Montoya in Englewood, Colorado. There, Brundage has daily access to a stable full of world-class teammates, from Anthony Smith, Chris Gutierrez and Rob Wilkinson to Dustin Jacoby, Brandon Royval and Alexander Hernandez.

5. He prefers to maximize his time.

Brundage boasts six first-round finishes among his 10 career wins, three of them inside the Octagon. He submitted Dalcha Lungiambula with a guillotine choke 3:41 into their UFC Fight Night 203 pairing on March 12, 2022, put away Tresean Gore with punches 3:50 into their UFC on ESPN 39 encounter on July 9, 2022 and wiped out Zachary Reese with a slam and follow-up punches 1:49 into their UFC on ESPN 52 confrontation on Dec. 2, 2023.