Cody Brundage‘s middleweight fight against Abdul Razak Alhassan at UFC Denver ended in a no-contest due to illegal strikes to the back of Brundage’s head, marking the second time in four fights that such an incident has occurred.
Cody Brundage has had one of the strangest years in recent memory. On Saturday night, another chapter was added to that story.
Brundage competed in the middleweight main card opener of UFC Denver. He faced dangerous knockout artist Abdul Razak Alhassan, who looked to end the fight early.
After stuffing a Brundage takedown, Alhassan delivered some big elbows. These strikes had his opponent badly hurt.
Alhassan kept landing hard shots and elbows. Multiple blows clearly hit Brundage in the back of the head — which referee Dan Miragliotta warned Alhassan about.
About 15 seconds later, Alhassan landed another shot to the back of the head. The action was halted immediately.
Brundage then took the full five minutes of recovery time. However, physicians ruled that he could no longer continue, resulting in a no-contest.
It was the second time in four fights that illegal strikes to Brundage led to a fight being stopped early. Additionally, Brundage’s two other fights since September were at UFC 300 against Bo Nickal and his slam knockout win against Zachary Reese.
After the fight, their fellow UFC fighters reacted to the abrupt ending. Dominick Cruz tweeted: “Brundage is asking his corner for direction! He needs to decide if he wants to keep fighting or not! It would mean a no contest if decides not to continue.”
Aljamain Sterling also chimed in: “What are the odds Brundage ends up in 2 fights with illegal elbows to the back of the head?? Crazy.”
Terrance McKinney had a different take: “Yo he better finish the fight he walked just fine when he said stand up no wobble nothing bruh smh.”
Zac Pauga didn’t hold back either: “Brundage’s entire gameplan is a shitty single and hoping he gets hit in the back of the head #UFCDenver.”
The reactions were mixed but intense. The controversy surrounding this bout will likely linger for some time.