Jacob
Malkoun faced Cody
Brundage in a middleweight clash on the preliminary card of
UFC Fight Night 228 this past Saturday.
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The Australian looked impressive in his return to the Octagon, as
he took Brundage down in the opening seconds. Malkoun went on to
lay some heavy ground-and-pound, prompting referee Mark Smith to
ask for some action from Brundage. “Mamba” then attempted a
rear-naked choke before landing an elbow that was deemed illegal by
the referee, leading to a pause in action. Brundage said he was
unable to continue and was declared the winner via disqualification
after review of the footage.
Malkoun has now weighed in on the loss, voicing his disagreement
with the decision. The Australian claims the elbow was completely
unintentional and not exactly to the back of the head.
“I’ve had some time to think. I just want to make it clear that the
shot was UNINTENTIONAL, as I was throwing the elbow to the side of
his head he turned his back to me,” Malkoun wrote on Instagram.
“Really the forearm hit his trap so it wasn’t the back of the head
anyways. I’ve lost the bout and some money after dominating, which
leaves a sour taste in my mouth. But then I remind myself, the
morning of the fight I prayed to [God] asking for two things, to
perform to the best of my abilities and show all the hard work I’ve
put in, the second was to keep my health. So in the end [God] gave
me both of these things so it’s not that bad. On to the next!”