According to Garbrandt, however, this is not the case.
Appearing on The MMA Hour on Monday, the Sacramento based fighter confirmed to Ariel Helwani that his interests are in the champions of the 145 & 155lb classes, currently occupied by no other than Jose Aldo and Conor McGregor, respectively:
“I need to sit down with Dana [White] and Sean [Shelby] and find out the biggest money fight for me,” said the 25-year-old. “I know I can go up and fight with Jose Aldo: he has wins over my teammates. He is a legend and I’d like to test his chin. I know I hit hard and I’m just getting started.”
“I could also have the biggest fight with Conor [McGregor]. I could easily go up. My homie Nate Diaz choked him out, and I can’t believe he’s pound-for-pound No. 2 on the list, with, you know he got choked out.”
“I want the biggest money fight for me right now.”
Friday night’s victory over the champion was certainly a huge step towards UFC stardom; Garbrandt made it look so simple, which was a feat considering he was expected by many to be schooled by Cruz. The fighter who is now 11-0 in MMA is certain he could mix it with Conor McGregor and Jose Aldo:
“There’s a lot of fights for me in the division, in the UFC division,” he said. “I am young enough to go up, and I’ll fight anybody. But to be honest, I truly believe that I’m ready to fight and I believe that I go out there and put on a performance. And I’m a draw. I want the biggest money fight for me right now. I think that I saw Jose Aldo say that he’d like to fight me, I’d like to test his chin. Like I said, he’s got wins over my teammates and I want to get every one of those back”.
“And you know, Conor [McGregor], too. He knows that I’d go up to 150 and catchweight with him. Jose Aldo I’ll go up to 45. But yeah. I’m excited for the potential match-ups for me. I feel like I’m one of the biggest draws. I’m the biggest draw for Conor in the division, you know what I mean? I’m a rising star. Jose Aldo needs a fight. I think that he went out there and said that he’d like to fight me too.”
When asked about his next fight, the new king of the bantamweight division is looking towards a return to the octagon this summer:
“I think so, say June maybe, before summer,” he said. “Yeah, I think that would be a great time to come back and give somebody an ass-whooping. But yeah, me and Conor McGregor had the beef on The Ultimate Fighter. I mean, have nothing against the guy as far as a fighter. It’s a business to me. But I’ll tell you what, somebody puts their hands on me and I didn’t do shit about it, I’d be wanting to get them back each time. That’s for sure.”
Watch Garbrandt and McGregor lock horns in The Ultimate Fighter 22: in October 2015:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ec0uMQu25ZM
Garbrandt is looking towards Conor McGregor and Jose Aldo for “big fights” over a defence of his new title.
According to Garbrandt, however, this is not the case.
Appearing on The MMA Hour on Monday, the Sacramento based fighter confirmed to Ariel Helwani that his interests are in the champions of the 145 & 155lb classes, currently occupied by no other than Jose Aldo and Conor McGregor, respectively:
“I need to sit down with Dana [White] and Sean [Shelby] and find out the biggest money fight for me,” said the 25-year-old. “I know I can go up and fight with Jose Aldo: he has wins over my teammates. He is a legend and I’d like to test his chin. I know I hit hard and I’m just getting started.”
“I could also have the biggest fight with Conor [McGregor]. I could easily go up. My homie Nate Diaz choked him out, and I can’t believe he’s pound-for-pound No. 2 on the list, with, you know he got choked out.”
“I want the biggest money fight for me right now.”
Friday night’s victory over the champion was certainly a huge step towards UFC stardom; Garbrandt made it look so simple, which was a feat considering he was expected by many to be schooled by Cruz. The fighter who is now 11-0 in MMA is certain he could mix it with Conor McGregor and Jose Aldo:
“There’s a lot of fights for me in the division, in the UFC division,” he said. “I am young enough to go up, and I’ll fight anybody. But to be honest, I truly believe that I’m ready to fight and I believe that I go out there and put on a performance. And I’m a draw. I want the biggest money fight for me right now. I think that I saw Jose Aldo say that he’d like to fight me, I’d like to test his chin. Like I said, he’s got wins over my teammates and I want to get every one of those back”.
“And you know, Conor [McGregor], too. He knows that I’d go up to 150 and catchweight with him. Jose Aldo I’ll go up to 45. But yeah. I’m excited for the potential match-ups for me. I feel like I’m one of the biggest draws. I’m the biggest draw for Conor in the division, you know what I mean? I’m a rising star. Jose Aldo needs a fight. I think that he went out there and said that he’d like to fight me too.”
When asked about his next fight, the new king of the bantamweight division is looking towards a return to the octagon this summer:
“I think so, say June maybe, before summer,” he said. “Yeah, I think that would be a great time to come back and give somebody an ass-whooping. But yeah, me and Conor McGregor had the beef on The Ultimate Fighter. I mean, have nothing against the guy as far as a fighter. It’s a business to me. But I’ll tell you what, somebody puts their hands on me and I didn’t do shit about it, I’d be wanting to get them back each time. That’s for sure.”
Watch Garbrandt and McGregor lock horns in The Ultimate Fighter 22: in October 2015: