Cody Brundage wanted to get right, so took longer layoff ahead of first UFC co-main event

USA Today

27-02-2025

LAS VEGAS – Starting with his fall 2020 fight on DWCS, Cody Brundage got basically permanently busy.
Brundage fought a dozen times in less than four years, and 10 of those, starting in September 2021, have been in the UFC. Like Indiana Jones said, 'It's not the years, honey – it's the mileage.' And though he's just into his 30s, Brundage has put plenty of mileage on in the past few years.
It warranted a longer break than he'd been accustomed to – coming up on eight months after a 37-second no contest when Abdul Razak Alhassan hit him with elbows to the back of the head. And to think, an eight-month layoff is standard for many fighters. For Brundage, it was a way to hit the reset button ahead of his next fight.
Brundage (10-6 MMA, 4-5 UFC) takes on Julian Marquez (9-5 MMA, 3-4 UFC) in a middleweight bout Saturday in the UFC Fight Night 253 (ESPN+) co-main event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
'I fought six times in 14 months from the time I made my (UFC) debut to my last fight. I think me and Kevin Holland were the most active guys in the UFC,' Brundage said Wednesday at a media day for the event. 'I think sometimes the way to get out from a loss is to just push it and go find a win. And then other times, maybe you need to pull the reins a little bit, take a little break, get physically, mentally right and decide, 'Is this what I want to keep doing?''
Fortunately for Brundage, the answer came back affirmative and he knew the slightly extended time off could be just what the doc ordered.
'It was good. I have good people around. They're like, 'Hey, let's chill six months to a year,'' Brundage said. 'I think it's been eight months since my last fight, and I really dove into coaching for those first few months and got to travel with some guys, and that was really important and good. It's put me in a good place, mentally, physically, to come back and hopefully have a great performance.'
The road to his first UFC co-feature hasn't necessarily been a smooth one for Brundage. He had a modest two-fight winning streak in 2022 that included a post-fight bonus award for a first-round knockout of Tresean Gore, but that was halted by a three-fight skid. Another two-fight streak included another bonus, but that momentum was halted with a UFC 300 loss to Bo Nickal.
The good news for Brundage is, all four of his UFC wins have been first-round finishes, so it's not like he's not making his mark. He's a slight underdog against Marquez, but likes where he's head's at against an opponent he's spent some time training with.
'We're not best friends, but we're friendly,' Brundage said. 'I don't wish anything bad upon Julian. We're both in a spot where you can't say no. I'm on the last fight of my contract, he's on a three-fight losing streak, so when the UFC calls, you've got to say yes.
'I don't know how it's going to go. I've never fought someone that I trained with. I would imagine that he's comfortable with knowing what I'm going to do and I'm comfortable knowing what he's going to do, and we'll see how it plays out in the fight. We trained together for an extended period of time. We both know what we bring to the table, and I think it'll be a good fight.'
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie's event hub for UFC Fight Night 253.