Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC
Expect his condition to reopen dialogue on the dangers of weight cutting.
Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) bantamweight champion, Cody Garbrandt, has been pulled from his Raphael Assuncao fight, previously scheduled for Sat., March 28 2020 inside Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, due to “kidney issues.”
Bad enough to land “No Love” in the hospital after “pissing blood.”
“I honestly don’t know what it is,” Garbrandt told ESPN. “A month ago, I had cellulitis in my shin. I went to the hospital and got that cleared with antibiotics. I got back into training, but then last Friday, the lymph nodes in my groin were inflamed and I didn’t feel well. I thought it was just due to rough training.”
”On Saturday, I had flu-like symptoms. The lymph nodes were so inflamed I couldn’t walk,” Garbrandt continued. “I took an Uber to the hospital and did a bunch of tests on my blood, kidneys, CAT scan. The doctor sent me home and 20 minutes later I felt even worse and started pissing blood.”
The ex-champ is currently en route to a specialist in Cleveland.
Garbrandt (11-3) jumped out to a perfect 11-0 start to his professional mixed martial arts (MMA) career, which included a championship win over Dominick Cruz at UFC 207. Since then, “No Love” has dropped three straight fights, all by way of knockout.
A timetable for his UFC return has yet to be established.