UFC 189: Cody Garbrandt stays unbeaten with decision over Henry Briones

Cody Garbrandt entered his UFC 189 fight with Henry Briones an 11-1 favorite over Tijuana’s Henry Briones.
Briones, a TUF: Latin America 1 cast member, held up better than the odds seemed to indicate. But it still wasn’t enough to get the wi…

Cody Garbrandt entered his UFC 189 fight with Henry Briones an 11-1 favorite over Tijuana’s Henry Briones.

Briones, a TUF: Latin America 1 cast member, held up better than the odds seemed to indicate. But it still wasn’t enough to get the win, as Garbrandt improved to 7-0 on Saturday night.

Garbrandt, a Team Alpha Male fighter, scored a unanimous decision in their bantamweight fight at UFC 189. The judges’ scores at the MGM Grand Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas were 30-27 across the board.

Briones (16-5-1) tagged Garbrandt a couple times early and got his opponent to respect his power. Much of the first round was a feeling-out process, but Garbrandt turned up the heat late with a takedown, a big elbow, and a series of hammerfists.

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Garbrandt picked up the pace in the second round, landing a big left hand and following with a right uppercut square on the jaw, which dropped Briones to the mat. Briones proved to have a chin, though, and got back to his feet.

Briones went for broke over the final minute of the final round. He landed a couple of shots, but Garbrandt responded for the most memorable back-and-forth standup exchange of the fight.

The fight marked the first time Garbrandt went the distance in an MMA fight. His previous six bouts were knockout wins.