After a whirlwind couple of years inside and outside the cage, the former UFC Bantamweight Champion, Cody Garbrandt, had an open conversation with Michael Bisping to discuss his fighting career, private life, and goals for the future.
New beginnings for Cody Garbrandt
Garbrandt recently moved out to Las Vegas to begin a new chapter in his life and found a new gym to train at. After spending most of his career training at Team Alpha Male under Uriah Faber, Garbrandt has spent the past few years learning from different coaches, soaking up all the information he could before he recently settled in Nevada.
Unfortunately, bad luck has followed Garbrandt to Sin City as he had to withdraw from his fight against Mario Bautista at UFC due to a torn disc in his back, a part of his body that has plagued him now for a few years.
Recent injuries have put him in limbo with regards to his career, but he remains optimistic about the future. At the age of 32, he is far from finished and has miles left in the tank. If Garbrandt can return to anywhere near the form we saw in his phenomenal display against Domnick Cruz at UFC 207, fans will be in for a treat.
After winning the UFC Bantamweight title against Cruz, Garbrandt had an 11-0 record, nine of which were either KO or TKO victories. Despite the last few years of his career not going to plan, Garbrandt remains box-office; people want to see his fights. Speaking on Michael Bisping’s YouTube channel, Garbrandt was asked if it’s difficult watching the top contenders in the Bantamweight division fight, given that Garbrandt used to be in that position himself.
”You know, It’s not. I truly believe that some of my best performances are ahead of me. I just have to get my body right. I love this [fighting], I truly do; it’s the best job I’ve ever had” said Cody Garbrandt. He went on to say that he’s happy for the current crop of top bantamweight talent making waves in the UFC, even the current champion, Sean O’Malley, who he has beef with.
”I’m happy for Suga Sean. I think it’s great that he’s the champion of our division. I think he has a lot of holes and weaknesses that are going to be exposed a lot, but right now, let him enjoy the championship.”
The recently retired T.J. Dillashaw is another fighter Garbrandt has had beef with, stemming back almost a decade from when the pair were competing on The Ultimate Fighter. Nasty words were exchanged between the pair before and after their fights at UFC 217 and UFC 227, respectively.
Garbrandt holds no grudges towards the man who was his arch-nemesis for so many years. His mindset at 32 years old is very different to when he was 25. The maturity is evident from how he communicates with Bisping during the conversation, and he doesn’t want to carry negative thoughts around as he enters the next chapter of his life.
Will we see the ‘old’ Cody Garbrandt again?
Last time out in March, Garbrandt won a decision against Trevin Jones at UFC 285. Although he was victorious, it was far from a vintage Garbrandt performance, as the explosiveness we fans have been accustomed to in the past wasn’t on show. According to Garbrandt, his spark remains, and he intends to deliver hell-raising performances in the future should his body allow it.
He’s not putting a time frame on his return, instead waiting until he feels healthy enough to train correctly, gain weight, and give himself the best chance to deliver an outcome reminiscent of the 2014-2016 Cody Garbrandt. In the meantime, he’ll ignore the haters on social media. Garbrandt has no plans to hang up the gloves any time soon.
Discussion about this post