Cody Brundage and Julian Marquez met in the middleweight co-main event at UFC Vegas 103 on Saturday, with Marquez stepping in to replace Ryan Loder in the fight.
Brundage and Marquez were former teammates, but it was Marquez with his back to the wall on an 0-3 skid.
Almost immediately in Saturday’s UFC Vegas 103 co-headliner, Cody Brundage had “Cuban Missile Crisis” Marquez in crisis mode, hurting him early. Marquez was wobbled, and Brundage worked his right hand; Marquez soon regained his composure, but seemed hesitant to pull the trigger. Off a bit of a collision in the middle of the cage, Marquez went down— not a knockdown, but he had to fend off a choke. Back on the feet, Marquez landed a left hand as the middleweights continued to trade fire, both men loading up on shots.
Chaos erupted later in the round. Marquez clobbered Brundage, knocking his mouthpiece out. Brundage slumped to the ground and looked to be out of it, but the fight was allowed to continue and Marquez went after a choke. A critical mistake, as Brundage was able to recover just a bit. Marquez went back to throwing punches, but Brundage battled back and rocked Julian, knocking his mouthpiece out as well! Somehow the ref managed to return both mouthpieces to their rightful owner, and Brundage knocked Marquez down not long after! Brundage, from the back, rained down more punches while Marquez covered up. Marquez was moving, but not enough for the ref, who finally waved things off!
Official Result: Cody Brundage def. Julian Marquez by TKO, Round 1, 4:45
