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Cody Garbrandt was never meant to grab the spotlight or bask in success. He came from a troubled home in Uhrichsville, Ohio which has a population of under 6,000 people. Like most of the people in his part of Ohio, he looked like we would end up working at the local coal mines until fate intervened.
To be fair it’s a miracle that Garbrandt isn’t behind bars today, seeing that both his father and one of his uncles have spent time in the slammer. Even the uncle who trained him has an unsavoury history with the law.
From rural Ohio to California, and then to the UFC, Cody Garbrandt’s story of success is as unlikely as it is inspirational and here are 5 things that you didn’t know about it.
#5 Garbrandt had a troubled childhood but he turned it around after meeting a 5-year old with leukemia
Cody Garbrant’s father was barely around when he was growing up and is currently behind bars. So was one of his uncles. Garbrandt himself was kicked out of high-school for fighting and was soon selling drugs to earn a living and pay for his gym membership.
Garbrandt’s outlook changed when he met a 5-year old boy called Maddux Maple who lived in the adjacent town. Maddux was suffering from leukemia and it inspired Garbrandt to get things together and reverse the downward spiral he was in.
Three and a half years later, at UFC 182, after Garbrandt had beaten Marcus Brimage by TKO, Cody addressed the fans in his post-fight speech. He said that Maddux was sitting in the crowd that night with his family.
They had made a pact with each other years ago – that Maddux would beat leukemia and that Cody would fight in the UFC. On that night, Cody fulfilled his end of the bargain. Maddux had already beaten his cancer.
#4 He was trained in boxing by his uncle who was an Olympic alternate
Cody started training for wrestling as a youngster before the boxing bug bit him aged 15. When his mother disapproved, Cody and his brother sneaked down to the gym and sparred. Even though Garbrandt won a state wrestling championship in 2007 and was a runner-up in 2008, he eventually started to focus on boxing instead.
Trained by his uncle Robert, who was an Olympic alternate in the sport, Garbrandt had his first boxing bout aged 14 and would rack up 30 fights in the next 6 years, sometimes fighting twice on the same weekend because he enjoyed it so much.
#3 Standout amateur boxing career, undefeated in professional MMA career
Cody Garbrandt isn’t used to losing. An accomplished amateur boxer, Cody Garbrant has a record of 32 wins and 1 loss in his amateur boxing career. He is also yet to taste defeat inside the Octagon.
When Garbrandt signed with the UFC, he had a pro MMA record of 5-0. He has now taken his record to 11 wins and no losses, winning his first 6 fights since signing with the UFC. The latest of his victories was a victory by unanimous decision over modern great Dominick Cruz at UFC 207 to win the UFC Bantamweight Championship.
#2 He made only around $68,000 last year
This may come as a surprise to some fans but Garbrant, who won the UFC Bantamweight Championship at UFC 207 on 30 December last year, only made around $68,000 in the calendar year of 2016 although he is scheduled for a sizeable pay rise in 2017.
As of now, he has earned around $170,000 in his career but with his career trajectory on the rise, he will soon be commanding larger purses and possibly a share of the revenue as he starts to become a headliner.
#1 He used to date Paige Van Zant
The most high-profile relationship of Garbrandt’s life was with fellow UFC fighter Paige Van Zant. Their relationship lasted a few months before they went their separate ways in 2015, claiming that they had put their relationship on the backburner to focus on their careers as they both wanted to be UFC Champion one day.
Garbrandt is currently dating Danielle Pimsanguan. The pair are in a relatively new relationship and met in the California gym where Garbrandt trains.
