Performance of the Night: Cody Brundage
There aren’t many comebacks like the one we saw from Cody Brundage (7-2 MMA, 1-1 UFC) at “UFC Fight Night 203: Santos vs Ankalaev.” Usually comeback wins involve a fighter rallying from being dropped or nearly submitted. Not many comebacks happen after taking nearly 50 unanswered strikes.
That’s what Brundage was able to do against Dalcha Lungiambula. Brundage was getting battered along the fence, hoping that Lungiambula would either get tired or make a mistake. Lungiambula threw a flurry of punches then went in for a shot and Brundage saw his shot. He pulled the guillotine and was able to finish the fight.
It tied for the fourth biggest statistical comeback finish in UFC middleweight history. What a way to get your first career UFC win.
Performance of the Night: Azamat Murzakanov
Azamat Murzakanov‘s UFC debut wasn’t perfect, but the undefeated Russian was able to weather the storm brought on by light heavyweight prospect Tafon Tchukwi and make a splash at the start of the third round.
Murzakanov (11-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) executed a beautiful flying knee that dropped Tchukwi instantly to the canvas. There weren’t any other strikes needed, and just like that, Murzakanov moved to 11-0 and is on the right track to find footing in the division.
Performance of the Night: Khalil Rountree Jr.
After a strong first round against Karl Roberson, Khalil Rountree (10-5 MMA, 6-5 UFC)would put away Roberson in opening moments of the second round via TKO . To start the second round, Rountree immediately put the pressure on Roberson. Once Rountree sensed he had Roberson hurt, the Las Vegas native would unleash another barrage of heavy strikes that would eventually drop Roberson to the canvas.
As Roberson attempted to get back to his feet, Rountree would land a powerful body kick that would force Roberson to cover up. Referee Herb Dean would call a stop to the contest 25 seconds into the round.
Performance of the Night: Song Yadong
For his first co-main event inside the octagon, Song Yadong (19-6-1 MMA, 8-1-1 UFC) would rise to the occasion, delivering a first round knockout against UFC veteran Marlon Moraes. The spotlight and attention seemed to have little affect on Song, as he looked more than confident against the veteran.
It only took Song two minutes to finish the job in Las Vegas. If he is to have another impressive performance against a ranked opponent, Song could easily find himself challenging for a world title next.
This story first published at UFC.com.
