Cody Brundage and Abdul Razak Alhassan meet Saturday on the main card of UFC on ESPN 59 from Ball Arena in Denver. Check out this quick breakdown of the matchup from MMA Junkie analyst Dan Tom.
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Cody Brundage vs. Abdul Razak Alhassan UFC on ESPN 59 preview
With a win here, Brundage (10-6 MMA, 4-5 UFC) will avenge a loss to the highly-touted Bo Nickal, and also get back to .500 in his UFC tenure. Prior to the UFC 300 loss to Nickal, Brundage built steam with back-to-back first-round submissions of Jacob Malkoun and Zach Reese. … Alhassan (12-6 MMA, 6-6 UFC) is also coming off a loss to a rising middleweight star in Joe Pyfer. Alhassan has traded wins and losses over his past four fights as he has struggled to build momentum.
Cody Brundage vs. Abdul Razak Alhassan UFC on ESPN 59 expert pick, prediction
Despite having a perfect main-card opener like Drew Dober vs. Jean Silva, the UFC matchmakers opted to kick off this high-elevation main card with a couple of middleweights with suspect stamina and staying power.
Although this fight between Alhassan and Brundage is favored to finish inside the distance, I feel like this fight could easily turn into a slow and grueling slop fest if these guys can’t get to their games early.
I don’t disagree with Alhassan being favored and could see him getting a finish over Brundage early given that he’s the cleaner striker. That said, I suspect the wrestling dynamic could provide Brundage with some equalizers that help open up his offense.
You can’t be too confident backing either party here, but I’ll reluctantly take a flier on the underdog Brundage to force a stoppage by strikes in round 3.
Cody Brundage vs. Abdul Razak Alhassan UFC on ESPN 59 odds
The oddsmakers and the public are siding with the former welterweight, listing Alhassan -170 and Brundage +138 via FanDuel.
Cody Brundage vs. Abdul Razak Alhassan UFC on ESPN 59 start time, how to watch
As the featured bout, Brundage and Alhassan are expected to make their walks to the cage at approximately 10:05 p.m. ET (8:05 p.m. local time in Denver). The fight airs on ESPN and streams live on ESPN+.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 59.
