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Cody Garbrandt came into the UFC on a 5 fight win streak. The Urijah Faber pupil continued his red hot path climbing his way up the 135 rankings, winning 6 more in a row. When he finally got his shot at champion Dominick Cruz there was a lot on the line.
It wasn't just for the bantamweight belt. That fight in a way was for setting things straight within Team Alpha Male. Urijah was unable to beat the champ since their WEC days. As a matter of fact, Dominick had the team's number. He beat Faber twice as well as TJ Dillashaw. So Cody was the next best chance to actually defeat Cruz for the belt in the cage.
And on that night in 2016 at UFC 207 he flashed all the cockiness in the world. Coming into that fight with 3 consecutive 1st round KO's will do that. Younger, faster, crisper he pieced up the champ for 5 rounds. Then the world turned upside down on "No Love".
First having to deal with all the high school type drama with Dillashaw. Then being clipped and finished by his former teammate twice (albeit he was on epo); then to Pedro Munhoz. Right now Cody sits at 9th in the division. Not that bad of a spot for someone who's lost 3 in a row all via KO.
But now the Dominance MMA client is making a change. The 28 year old has decided it's just about time to drop to 125. The top 2 at 135 are fellow stablemates; champion Henry Cejudo and Marlon Moraes. So if there was to be another real run to the title he'd have to go through them. With Cejudo no longer holding the flyweight belt (although no one is either); the path to getting another championship becomes a lot easier. Plus there's no ranked Ali Abdel-aziz clients at 125, outside of Askar Askarov. But he's just 1-0-1 in the UFC despite his 11-0 record. So the company may wait to push him hard. Garbrandt said he's willing to stick around at 135 for his anticipated fight with Raphael Assuncao, but that's it.
Then he makes the move in the cage. Which opens a whole can of worms for him. Is he the sit back on his heels and just throw hands fighter he once was? No. He's gotten a little bit better overall. But he has a lot more polishing to do. At 125 guys are generally faster and he has a problem of staying on the center line and not moving his head. Which leaves him open to get cracked. And that's something that happens a lot lately.
If Benavidez and Figueiredo re-match for the title; which they should, he can make an argument to get the winner. Although in fairness he'd probably have to have at least one win at 125 first. Cody admitted he hardly cuts to make 135. But taking 10 more pounds off can deplete the body's organs, especially at that weight. Which in the long run might mean taking more damage in the octagon.
