Week five of Dana White’s Contender Series 2020 sees the undefeated Cody Brundage, a Light’s Out light heavyweight champ, take on William Knight, who was a Contender Series 2019 developmental deal winner. Meanwhile at lightweight, Tucker Lutz got a short-notice replacement when Chase Gibson stepped in to take over for Victor Martinez. How do we see these DWCS match-ups, and the rest of week five, going down?
Let’s get right to it.
Light heavyweight: William Knight vs. Cody Brundage
Tale of the Tape
32-years-old
5’10″
73.0″ reach
Hartford, Connecticut
Thornton Martial Arts
7-1
26-years-old
6’1″
Colorado
FactoryX Muay Thai
5-0
Pros and Cons
William Knight
Pros
- Athletic
- Very strong
- Good wrestling
- Strong top position
- Fight stopping ground and pound
- Heavy kicks
- Good cardio
Cons
- A bit wild
- TDD needs work
- Struggles at range
- Flat-footed
Cody Brundage
Pros
- Good right hand
- A good one-two
- Good leg kicks
- Decent wrestling
- Transitions well
- Goop top position
Cons
- Flat-footed at times
- Needs to move his head on the centerline
- Suspect cardio
Who has the advantage?
Striking: Brundage
Speed: Brundage
Output/Volume: Brundage
Knockout Power: Knight
Chin: Brundage
Kickboxing: Knight
Footwork: Brundage
Wrestling: Even
Grappling: Brundage
Submissions: Brundage
Cardio: Knight
Prediction
This fight could look like the Knight/Alacabek fight in 2019 on the Contender Series. Alacabek was winning early but gassed out and Knight took over and finished the fight. I’m not positive how deep the gas tank is on Brundage but of the little footage I’ve seen he does slow as the fight goes on.
Knight meanwhile is pretty durable, having only been finished once early in a fight, and I’m not sure Brundage has the ability to finish him. I do think Brundage is the more well-rounded fighter but it depends on how his cardio fares. The pick is going to be Brundage because I think he has the advantage on the feet and if he gets the takedown I believe he has the ability to finish. Not a confident pick at all, admittedly.
