Cody Brundage has only been in the UFC for one fight, but the man has already been through a lot. The Factory X product got his first shot at the big show with a bout on Contender Series back in September of 2020. In the round that his fight with UFC light heavyweight William Knight lasted, he experiences all the ups and downs of years worth of in cage combat. While it didn’t go his way, he learned a lot in the journey.
“I felt like I was winning the first and I was having a performance that would have got me into the UFC – I felt like I was UFC ready,” Brundage said.
The ride didn’t stop there, nor did his spirit. At the urging of his management team, Brundage got right back to work to earn a win at LFA 99 believing that it could get him right back in the spot to earn that contract. It not only opened that door, but opened others as well.
“It was a roller coaster, but I have the best management team in the game with Iridium. They told me to go get a win – we’re going to get you back on Contender [Series],” he said. “I fully expected to get back on Contender Series. I actually got offered to be on that season of The Ultimate Fighter.”
The pending birth of his daughter led to Brundage turning down the chance to be on the long running reality show. While he didn’t watch the show in its entirety, he did keep an eye on the fights and feels he would have done well on the show.
“Bryan Battle won the whole show and I lost a split decision to him as an amateur in a fight that I thought I had won,” Brundage said. “So I knew competition-wise, I would have done well.”
Although he feels he would have been right there at the end, he’s glad to have missed that experience. In talking with his wife, Amanda Bobby Cooper, he knew that wasn’t the right place for hi,
“Definitely did not sound enjoyable,” he said with a laugh. “I’m a very social person. I need my people. I kind of also had the inside track because my wife had been on the show and she was a finalist. She told me, it’s the hardest thing [she] ever had to do.”
Luckily for Brundage, neither The Ultimate Fighter nor the Contender Series was next for him. After Karl Roberson dropped out of a fight with Nick Maximov, Brundage got the short notice call. He’d go on to lose that fight by decision.
Now having run the full gauntlet of opportunities, Brundage is just happy to be back in a full training camp for a fight in the UFC that he was scheduled for himself. He thinks having that as a first is going to make him a dangerous man come Saturday.
“I’m going to finish the fight – late second [round] or early third. I don’t think he ahs the cardio to keep the pace I’m pushing this fight,” he said. “I’ve done more cardio work than I’ve ever done in preparation for this fight. I’m going to push a pace that you can’t keep up with and I’m going to break you.”
Cody Brundage fights Dalcha Lungiambula at UFC Vegas 50 this weekend. The fight will air on the ESPN+ prelims.
You can hear the entire audio of this interview at 1:50.
