Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC
Watching his friend and training partner Joseph Benavidez get finished twice by the same man was likely pretty hard for Cody Garbrandt. Which is probably why “No Love” was quick to ask UFC president, Dana White, for the first crack at dethroning the newly-crowned Flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo.
The former Bantamweight champion recently told ESPN that after “Daico” choked out “Joe Jitsu” at UFC Fight Island 2 on July 18 (see it again here), he reached out to White to plead his case. So when asked if he believes he’s the current front-runner to land the title fight, Garbrandt was very confident.
“As far as I know. I don’t have a contract in hand, I’m waiting on that,” he said. “I talked to Dana when he was on Fight Island and he said, ‘I’ll work on it.’”
Having competed at 135 pounds for the majority of his career, “No Love” says he won’t exactly abandon the 135-pound division if he gets the call. And he was quick to issue a subtle warning to everyone competing in both weight classes.
“I just got done working out and I weigh 145 pounds. I don’t cut weight to fight at 135. I can be very dangerous [at 125] and at 135.”
The former 135-pound champion recently got back on track by delivering one of the most devastating knockouts ever against Raphael Assuncao at UFC 250. The win snapped Cody’s three-fight losing streak, all of which he lost via knockout.
If Garbrandt doesn’t get the fight, it will likely go to Brandon Moreno, while “No Love” can focus on working his way back up the 135-pound ladder in an effort to reclaim the title he lost three years ago.
Just don’t expect him to fight this guy anytime soon.