Another weekend of fisticuffs has come and gone as UFC Vegas 27 blew the roof off UFC APEX last Sat. night (May 22, 2021) in Las Vegas, Nevada. Plenty of fighter were left feeling the post-fight blues, including Yan Xiaonan, who saw her dreams of a title fight go out the window thanks to Carla Esparza (highlights here).
And Edmen Shahbazyan, who suffered his second straight loss after coming up short against Jack Hermansson (recap here). But which fighter is suffering from the worst post-fight hangover, now a few days removed from the show?
Cody Garbrandt.
Coming into his headlining fight against Rob Font, Garbrandt knew that a standup war was waiting for him. And that’s just what he got for 25 minutes, though Font — who has some of the best striking technique in the game — won that battle on all fronts despite a tough-as-nails Garbrandt refusing to back down.
In the end, Garbrandt got “No Love” from the judges because they awarded Font the unanimous decision win. The loss was his fourth in his last five fights after starting off his career at 11-0, which includes capturing the Bantamweight title by defeating Dominick Cruz at UFC 207 five years ago.
Since then, however, Garbrandt has gone on to lose his title, drop two fights against bitter rival T.J. Dillashaw, and get knocked out by Pedro Munhoz. When you add in the loss to Font, it’s hard to see the hard-hitting brawler getting close to another title fight anytime soon.
Still, “No Love” is determined to keep on trucking to give fight fans the performances they long to see.
“I’m just really thankful, I wanted to come on here and tell you guys how much I appreciate and love your support,” Garbrandt said. “It’s very appreciated. I’m trying to fight my heart out for you guys and … thank you.”
Garbrandt is still just 30 years old and has the power in his hands to rack up wins in a hurry. He’s also an exciting fighter and still has enough name value to garner interest in his fights, as well as to lure opponents to sign on the dotted line.
He will likely lose a few spots in the rankings that will take him out of the Top 5, but I would love to see him face Marlon Moraes in his next fight. Like Garbrandt, “Magic” is coming off a tough loss to Font and both have enjoyed success as champions.
In fact, when Garbrandt was enjoying his stint as titleholder, Moraes was the World Series of Fighting bantamweight champion before making the move to UFC, and a fight between the two was on fans’ wish lists. Unfortunately it never came to be. And though the two combatants have seen better days — Moraes has lost three of four — booking a fight between them now is as good a time as any.
Objections?