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After having his third bout in a row canceled, Cody Garbrandt sent a chilling response after being called out by bantamweight Taylor Lapilus. He also teased that plans for a new opponent are in the works.
After Rani Yahya pulled out of back-to-back fights against the former 135-pound champion in 2022, Julio Arce was instead matched up to face 'No Love'. However, he's suffered an injury just one month before the meeting. If Garbrandt remains on the March 4 card, it will mark his first outing since his flyweight debut loss.
In a post on social media, Cody Garbrandt sent a warning to Taylor Lapilus for calling him out and admitted the two could meet in the cage in the future. However, that won't be the case anytime soon as he seemingly has an opponent lined up.
The former champion wrote:
"I won't be kind to you in the octagon my friend. I'll keep you in mind for the future. My opponent will be announced soon."
'Double Impact' parted ways with the UFC in 2017 despite holding a record of 3-1 during his time in the octagon. After leaving the promotion behind in 2016, the Frenchman went on to win eight of his nine bouts, with three of those victories coming by way of stoppage, before re-signing with the MMA leader last year.
At 30 years old, Lapilus is a 21-fight veteran who has managed to capture bantamweight and featherweight gold in a number of different MMA promotions.
Despite being a seasoned athlete, the Frenchman is yet to share the cage with a fighter who boasts the same credentials as Garbrandt.
When will we see Cody Garbrandt fight next?
While nothing has been confirmed since Julio Arce was forced out of their bout, Cody Garbrandt was originally set to compete at UFC 285. The event, set for March 4, will be headlined by Jon Jones vs. Ciryl Gane.
With a new opponent reportedly on the way, it seems likely that the knockout artist will remain on the card as he hopes to get his career back on track after a bad run of form in the sport.
Since his all-time display against Dominick Cruz in 2016, Garbrandt has recorded just one victory in the octagon. That came when he landed a huge right hook against Raphael Assuncao at UFC 250. Despite that performance, 'No Love' has lost on five separate occasions since winning the title.
