He might not have the results he’s wanted lately, but heading into the new year, Cody Brundage is confident he’s been on the right track for a while now.
Brundage is coming off a split decision loss to Eric McConico in August in a light heavyweight bout, up from middleweight. He had a draw with Mansur Abdul-Malik before that. But in March, he laid out Julian Marquez for a first-round knockout.
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The 31-year-old factoryX-trained Brundage (11-7-1 MMA, 5-6-1 UFC), at the end of the month, will take on Cam Roston (13-3 MMA, 1-0 UFC) back at middleweight at UFC 325 (Paramount+) in Sydney.
“In 2025, I went 1-1-1, and I just think it very easily could’ve been 3-0 depending on who was watching the fight and what they were seeing,” Brundage told MMA Junkie Radio. “You can never really get too mad at judges or what they do. I don’t know what they’re looking for. It seems like it changes every fight. It seems like it changes in the fight, between rounds.
“… I don’t think I’ve had bad performances in my last year of competition. I think I’ve had results I’m not happy with, but I haven’t performed poorly.”
Rowston has just one fight in the UFC. The Aussie, who will have the backing of his home fans, needed two DWCS fights to get to the show. But once there, he took out Andre Petroski in about a half-round in September to get his name out there.
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Although they’re a similar age and have a similar amount of total fights, Brundage thinks it’s his longevity in the UFC that will play a factor.
He also thinks 2026 is poised to be a big year for him.
“I’ve had a lot of fights in the UFC at this point – 13 fights in the UFC – and I’m only 31,” he said. “… I don’t know if (2026 is) a rebirth or a reset. I think it’s a realization of, ‘You have the power to go and do these things.’ Now it’s just going to make them happen. It took a long time. Growing up in the UFC is definitely a process, and there are some things that are tough about it and there are things that are awesome about it.
“At this point, I’d like to think I’m grown up, I’m here now, I’m established – now it’s just go and handle business.”
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Cody Brundage banking on experience as difference-maker at UFC 325
