AUSTIN, Texas – Cody Brundage can’t tell a lie: He saw Drakkar Klose’s slam knockout just before he walked out for his own fight.
And yeah, he liked it. And yeah, it might have put an idea in his head.
A few minutes later at UFC on ESPN 52, Brundage (10-5 MMA, 4-4 UFC) tried to slam his way loose from Zach Reese (6-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC), bounced the back of the UFC newcomer’s head off the canvas, and a couple punches later he had a finish for the history books.
Brundage’s slam might not have been as visually impressive as the one Klose hit on Joe Solecki at Moody Center in Austin, Texas – in that KO, Solecki turned his head to the side while Klose was trying to slam out of trouble, and he hit the canvas temple first and was out cold. That was just the 13th KO slam in the UFC’s 30-year history, so the fact Brundage got the 14th just one fight later and not a few years later, like the average might suggest, was impressive enough in its own right.
Suffice it to say, it was the first time in UFC history back-to-back fights ended with slam knockouts.
“I caught a glimpse of it. It was pretty impressive,” Brundage said of Klose’s slam. “It gave me a little inspiration, maybe. It feels awesome. I think I have one of the top comebacks, too, so this one definitely feels better than that.”
Not surprisingly, Brundage’s finish in the middleweight fight on the preliminary card earned him an extra $50,000 bonus for Performance of the Night. And Saturday, he had to share that honor with eight other finishers. Each fighter who got a stoppage win in Austin – nine in total – left with a performance bonus.
Brundage said the approaching holiday season means that $50,000 will get put to good use spoiling his daughters a little bit – “to give them everything I ever had growing up and more.”
But he also was in a giving mood after Reese was back up and said he told the Texas-based debutant he’ll bounce back the same way Brundage recently did after a three-fight skid.
“He’s 6-0 (before the fight). I got in the UFC when I was 6-1,” Brundage said. “I just told him you’re going to have ups and downs. You’re fighting the best guys in the world. It takes a minute to find your stride and find your confidence, and I feel like I’m starting to find it.”
As for who will be in front of him when he next sets out to put his confidence to the test, Brundage said it won’t matter.
“I’m not really worried about the (next opponent),” he said. “I think eventually that’s something you deal with. There’s little things you can do to prepare for people. But if I’m on my ‘A’ game, there’s not a dude that I’m going to fight right now that I can’t go in there and finish – and I know that.
“Really, it’s just nose to the grindstone. I’m a workhorse. I always show up. I didn’t take any damage this fight. … I told coach before this fight, ‘Man, I’m going to go smash this dude and then I’m going to take a little break.’ But now I won, so you’ll probably see me back in January.”
It’s Christmas time. I got, I got two little girls and uh, you know, I’m trying to give them everything I ever had growing up and more. So, uh, you know, I know the bonuses are few and far between, but if I could get one, that would, that would be pretty awesome. Yeah.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 52.
