highlight
- Cody Brundage takes on Bo Niccal at the highly anticipated UFC 300 event in Las Vegas on Saturday.
- Brundage told GIVEMESPORT and other reporters that he aims to derail the hype train by facing Nickal now rather than years from now.
- Brundage even took a swipe at Knickal, saying people respected him too much as the Jesus Christ of mixed martial arts.
LAS VEGAS — UFC 300 takes place Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, and it's packed with great fights.
From top to bottom, there are big battles with big meanings and stories. One of his most interesting matches on this card, Cody Brundage vs. Vonikal, starts the pay-per-view portion of the event.
Brundage, the overwhelming underdog, takes on one of the sport's most promising prospects in Knickal.
But speaking with GIVEMESPORT and other reporters at Wednesday's UFC Apex, Brundage appeared to refuse to put Knickal on a pedestal before facing the elite grappler.
now is better than never
It's realistic to say Brundage has to catch Knickal now, not in a few years.
Although Nikal is in the premier bracket for one of the biggest events in martial arts history, he is only a few fights into his professional career and still has a few fights left before he faces higher-ranked fighters.
The Penn State graduate has looked very sharp in his first two UFC appearances and looks to continue his dominance on Saturday.
But Brundage believes he can derail the hype train.
“I like playing against Bo. Like I said before, I think it's better to get him now than in two or three years. He's very inexperienced and there are a lot of unknowns. That’s how I feel.” [past opponents] I was happy just being there. Certainly there is no such way of thinking. And I bring something to the table that his other opponents don't — I'm here to win. ”
Brundage admits that Nickal is very confident, but says he hasn't faced any real challenges yet. The Factory X product said he started training for this fight in December and hopes to take Nickal down a notch or two.
“He's a very confident guy. I think that's one of his superpowers. His confidence is untouchable, so you don't know what you don't know. “I've never been beaten. It's fun to fight.'' Everyone thinks so, but it's a little different when you're a nail, and he doesn't even know how to react to it. ”
holy war
Brundage isn't afraid of Nickal and makes wild statements.
MMA has had some of the wildest trash talkers in UFC history.
While some fighters like Conor McGregor and Chael Sonnen have perfected the art of psychological warfare and brawling, fighters like Colby Covington and Sean Strickland have flown very close to the sun. flew.
Brundage continued:
“Odds are what they are, but sometimes it's just a story of what people think. At the end of the day, Bo Knickal has never been hit. That's why he's such a favorite. Seems a little crazy to me. Obviously, I'm a little biased. It seems pretty wild, but I don't think people think he's like the second coming of Jesus Christ in MMA. I know you are. I don’t think so.”
+1100 Betting Underdog Brundage provoked a reaction from a pro wrestling genius who expressed his beliefs in a joke.
On Wednesday, Nikkal told GIVEMESPORT and other reporters:
“I think it’s okay for people to say what they want to say. Of course people are going to try to promote me or say things that push me away, but I just go out there and say, I'm just trying to accomplish what I want.'' People want to pick a fight, people want to build a fight. For me, no matter what you say, [in] I'm going to be in the cage before the fight and the week of the fight, so that's what I'm focused on and the important things will come out in the moment. ”
