Former UFC bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt will make his 125-pound debut against No. 6-ranked flyweight contender Kai Kara-France at the promotion’s upcoming UFC 269 pay-per-view (PPV) fight card on Dec. 11, booked for T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
But what version of “No Love” should fans expect?
“There’s so many unanswered questions that it scares me and motivates me in the sense of doing the extra,” Garbrandt said on the “Rollin with the Homies” podcast (transcribed by Farah Hannoun). “Not that I haven’t in the past, but it’s more. You have to add more onto it, then figure it out. So I think that this will be a great weight for me. My energy levels feel good. I’ve been on a diet for about two months now, so I’ve already shaved off five to seven pounds, give or take. I’m feeling good.”
Garbrandt (12-4) is running out of chances to reclaim his former glory. In addition to recurring injuries and illness, “No Love” dropped four of his last five in the bantamweight division, including last May’s unanimous decision loss to streaking contender Rob Font.
“I’ve got to make a statement, and I’m known to,” Garbrandt continued. “This is a huge fight for me, huge opportunity for my career. I’m as scared of this as any fight because I’ve never made 125. I’ve never fought here. There’s a lot of unanswered questions. Just like going into the Dominick Cruz fight – yeah, I could go in there and knock him out. But could I go five rounds? Could I do this? Could I do that?”
We’ll find out on Dec. 11.