Underdog Brundage Will Make Nickal Win ‘Look Easy’

Cody Brundage is confident he’ll hand Bo Nickal his first career loss at UFC 300 in April 2024.

Nickal, 27, is as good of a prospect as there’s ever been in mixed martial arts (MMA) history. With the loftiest of expectations right out the gate, Nickal has delivered on his extraordinary odds as a favorite in all five of his fights thus far. In three of those five, he’s ended the action in under one minute.

The 29-year-old Brundage will be the next man in line to try and halt the momentum of the former Penn State wrestler. In terms of MMA experience, Brundage is one of the most impressive opponents of Nickal’s career, boasting a 10-5 record. Nickal will be Brundage’s ninth opponent inside the Octagon and he plans to defy the odds without much resistance.

“I’m gonna catch a lot of s—t for this, but I don’t think the fight is gonna be easy by any means, but I really, really truly believe I’m gonna make it look easy,” Brundage told MiddleEasy.

After a tough three-fight losing skid starting in late 2022 and ending before the close of 2023, Brundage got back on a winning streak by defeating the likes of Jacob Malkoun and Zachary Reese. The latter of which was one of the few slam knockouts in UFC history (watch highlights).

“I’m the best guy this guy’s ever fought, it’s not even close,” Brundage said. “It’s a big step up in competition. They were trying to book him against Tresean Gore. That was going to be the match up, right? Then Tresean fell out and he fought that guy on short notice, but I finished Tresean Gore in one round. So, it’s a huge step up in competition from where he has been.”