Preview: UFC 325 Prelims

Middleweights

Cameron Rowston vs. Cody Brundage

BETTING ODDS: Rowston (-360), Brundage (+285)

Rowston (13-3, 1-0 UFC) didn’t make the best first impression. He initially showed up on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2024, when he was outwrestled handily by Torrez Finney. That seemingly made the “Battle Giraffe” the latest cautionary tale when it comes to wrestlers from the Australian regional scene, particularly since Rowston wasn’t particularly dominant in that phase at a regional level to begin with. However, Rowston made good on his Contender Series shot a year later, this time scoring a quick knockout—a trick he also pulled in his UFC debut against Andre Petroski in September. Petroski might have been able to outwrestle Rowston eventually, but the Aussie didn’t allow the action to get past the feeling-out process. He will look to follow that blueprint once again against Brundage, another wrestler by trade who could either cause Rowston some problems or eventually implode.

Brundage (11-7-1, 5-6-1 UFC) came to the UFC in 2021 with a fairly generic set of skills, but he has applied them quite well as his UFC career has progressed. Brundage typically comes into his fights equipped with one or two clear ideas depending on the matchup, leaning on them early and often. Sometimes that works in quick and spectacular fashion, but otherwise, things tend to go sideways in any manner of ways. Brundage either often winds up getting finished over the long haul or the situation just gets strange, with three of his last seven fights ending via foul, two because his opponents couldn’t stop punching him in the back of the head. This would be a nice spot for Brundage to lean on his wrestling, but even if he does, the read is that Rowston can outlast him and eventually hit something violent, even if this fight could be a mess until it gets to that point. The pick is Rowston via second-round stoppage.

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