https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1d9TEH7IIyA
At first, Cody Garbrandt was all smiles when he managed to make weight for his big bantamweight title fight tomorrow night (Dec. 30) against champion Dominick Cruz. Things turned sour quickly when a commotion was heard in the backstage area.
That commotion ended up being an altercation between “No Love” and Cruz’s training partner Jeremy Stephens. Stephens is a seasoned mixed martial arts (MMA) veteran who currently competes in the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s (UFC) featherweight division.
MMAFighting reached out to both men for comments. The fighters responded and you can see what Stephens had to say below:
“So I turn my back and I take a couple steps and then I hear someone say, ‘Yeah, you better keep walking. You and your whole team blah blah blah.’ I look over, and it’s Cody approaching me. He’s coming at me fast, like he’s going to push me. I just put my arm out, and the security guy picks me up, moves me out. Cody starts getting all hot-headed, screaming, trying to throw his shirt off, trying to fight me. I’m laughing. Like, ‘Hey bro, you better get serious, you’re fighting my teammate tomorrow.’ I’m here for Dom. Then they broke it up.”
Garbrandt gave his side of the story and he didn’t mince words.
“Dude’s a b*tch and scratched my neck with his b*tch nails. He is lucky I had my hands full and was taken from behind by a few people. Cruz knows he can’t beat me so he brings his self-proclaimed savage in and hype man.”
The feud between Team Alpha Male and Cruz has spilled into something far more personal with Garbrandt involved. “No Love” threatened to walk into “The Dominator’s” interview room after the champion told the challenger he need to “shut his girlfriend” up when talking about the fight business.
UPDATE: The UFC 207 Embedded cameras were rolling when the Cody Garbrandt – Jeremy Stephens altercation broke out backstage at the UFC 207 weigh-ins on Thursday. For the video footage captured by UFC’s cameras, check out episode five of UFC 207 Embedded here: Video: Garbrandt, Cruz Camps In Backstage Altercation At Weigh-Ins (Embedded Ep. 5)