The former UFC flyweight champion has given ‘No Love’ some advice for the next phase of his career.
Deiveson Figueiredo was previously interested in how Cody Garbrandt would fare competing at flyweight. However, after seeing his disastrous debut against Kai Kara-France at UFC 269 last December, ‘Deus da Guerra’ has shared a word of advice for ‘No Love’ regarding his future: return to bantamweight and stay there.
The former UFC flyweight champion joined Guilherme Cruz of MMA Fighting on an edition of Trocação Franca and said that Garbrandt should stop cutting additional weight from now on and consider options at higher weight classes for his next fight.
“I really expected more,” said Figueiredo. “It became clear that this division is not for him. He has to stay in his weight class. It’s clear he gets weaker, physically speaking, going down in weight. He’s totally worn out. He should stay [at bantamweight] or move up to 145. This division is not for him.”
Garbrandt reached the pinnacle of his career with a stunning performance against Dominick Cruz for the bantamweight championship at UFC 207 over five years ago. Since then, the 30-year-old lost the belt and has been unable to find that same success in the Octagon, going just 1-6 in recent appearances. Four of those losses were by knockout.
The Team Alpha Male product then announced that he would be dropping down in weight to challenge then-champion Figueiredo at UFC 255, but that never came to fruition. Garbrandt was forced to withdraw after testing positive for COVID-19 and dealing with a slew of serious complications from the virus. After his recovery, he said he still intended to challenge Figueiredo, but the promotion had other plans instead.
With both men in two different phases of their careers, the Brazilian has moved on from ever meeting Garbrandt in the cage as he is “totally in decline” by his account. Despite his downturn, the 34-year-old could see Garbrandt doing much better in another combat sport.
“Since he’s a boxer and likes boxing, it would be good for him to box, to make that transition,” said Figueiredo. “He’s too young to think about retirement. He’s still got wood left to burn. In MMA [too], but flyweight is not for him. That message was very clear.”
Figueiredo will vie for the flyweight championship once again when he meets Brandon Moreno for the third time at UFC 270 on Saturday night.