Sean O’Malley Live Reacts To Cody Garbrandt’s UFC 269 KO Loss

UFC bantamweight prospect Sean O’Malley was in the middle of an interview when he saw Cody Garbrandt get knocked out in his flyweight debut.

O’Malley and Garbrandt went at it earlier during UFC 269 fight week at the pre-fight press conference, as t…

Sean O'Malley, Cody Garbrandt

UFC bantamweight prospect Sean O’Malley was in the middle of an interview when he saw Cody Garbrandt get knocked out in his flyweight debut.

O’Malley and Garbrandt went at it earlier during UFC 269 fight week at the pre-fight press conference, as the two went back-and-forth on the mic and also nearly brawled on stage. O’Malley and Garbrandt were rumored to potentially fight last year, but negotiations never materialized.

Many felt that Garbrandt was the more confident trash talker during the press conference, but O’Malley ended up getting the last laugh after Garbrandt suffered a brutal knockout against Kai Kara-France.

Check out O’Malley’s reaction to Garbrandt’s loss below.

“Oh, Cody. Cody just got knocked out. Sucks for him, deuces,” O’Malley said. “Some people just aren’t built for this.”

Sean O’Malley Later Changed His Tone On Cody Garbrandt

O’Malley and Garbrandt clearly have some disdain for each other, but O’Malley appeared to reverse course during his post-fight press conference. When asked if he saw Garbrandt’s fight, O’Malley took the chance to praise him just minutes after roasting him in an earlier interview.

“Cody’s also a legend in his own right,” O’Malley said. “And I’m not gonna sit up here and say anything negative about him. He’s probably gonna have a rough couple days, couple weeks, whatever it’s gonna be.”

O’Malley remains undefeated in his professional career after knocking out Raulian Paiva at UFC 269. It was arguably the toughest test of his UFC tenure, which he passed with flying colors.

O’Malley has been criticized for the level of competition he’s faced so far at bantamweight. He has yet to crack the bantamweight rankings, as UFC president Dana White recently said he isn’t ready for top-level opponents.

As for Garbrandt, his UFC future remains unclear. His flyweight debut obviously didn’t meet his expectations and he’s suffered a series of brutal knockouts in four of his last six fights.

O’Malley and Garbrandt had once been considered two of the top bantamweight prospects, but it appears the two of them might be heading on different paths in the UFC. O’Malley could earn a spot soon in the bantamweight rankings while Garbrandt is still looking to get back on the winning side of things in the UFC.

What do you think is next for Sean O’Malley and Cody Garbrandt?

Continue Reading Sean O’Malley Live Reacts To Cody Garbrandt’s UFC 269 KO Loss at MMA News.

Dominick Cruz Backs Cody Garbrandt To Bounce Back: ‘I Got Nothing But Faith In The Guy’

Dominick CruzDominick Cruz has backed Cody Garbrandt, to bounce back from his recent poor run of form that has seen ‘No Love’ lose five of his last six fights. Cruz survived a tough first round to mount an impressive comeback win against Pedro Munhoz at UFC 269. A bit later in the evening, Garbrandt suffered a […]

Dominick Cruz

Dominick Cruz has backed Cody Garbrandt, to bounce back from his recent poor run of form that has seen ‘No Love’ lose five of his last six fights.

Cruz survived a tough first round to mount an impressive comeback win against Pedro Munhoz at UFC 269. A bit later in the evening, Garbrandt suffered a disappointing first-round KO defeat in his flyweight debut against Kai Kara France.

The loss compounded what has been a tough few years in the sport for Garbrandt who has seriously struggled for form since he put on one of the best title-winning performances you’ll ever see to dethrone Cruz in 2016.

Speaking at the UFC 269 post-fight press conference, Cruz insisted that Garbrandt will be able to get back to his best after a run of poor results.

“I don’t know why other people haven’t been successful. I haven’t been part of their camps but I know that Cody is a champion, obviously, in his heart and mind, Cruz said.

“I think he will get back on track. He is still very young. Cutting down to 125 is, I don’t even know how that’s possible for him, but he made it work and he said it was easy so I think he’ll be fine. Just give the guy some time and let him find his bearings with his team or whatever he needs to find. I got nothing but faith in the guy.” (Transcribed by Sportskeeda)

Is Dominick Cruz A Genuine Bantamweight Title Contender?

After powering through an injury-plagued career Cruz seems to have finally found fitness but at 36-years-old is considered by some too old to truly challenge the elite level bantamweight fighters.

Such is his pedigree, Cruz was granted an immediate title shot when he returned from a three and a half year injury layoff but ultimately fell to a second-round TKO loss against Henry Cejudo.

Since then, he has been working his way back into title contention and has had to do so the hard way with wins against Casey Kenny and Pedro Munhoz.

It appears a big fight may be next for Cruz, and if he is able to emerge victorious from that he could well be in line for another shot at UFC gold.

Do you share Dominick Cruz’s optimism about Cody Garbrandt’s fighting future?

Kai Kara-France Drops, Stops Cody Garbrandt For First Round TKO – UFC 269 Highlights

Kai Kara-FranceWhat a performance from the #6 ranked UFC flyweight contender, Kai Kara-France who scored arguably the biggest victory of his career to date — in the form of a convincing first round knockout win over former undisputed bantamweight best, Cody Garbrandt on the main card of UFC 269. City Kickboxing mainstay, Kara-France, accompanied by teammate […]

Kai Kara-France

What a performance from the #6 ranked UFC flyweight contender, Kai Kara-France who scored arguably the biggest victory of his career to date — in the form of a convincing first round knockout win over former undisputed bantamweight best, Cody Garbrandt on the main card of UFC 269.

City Kickboxing mainstay, Kara-France, accompanied by teammate and UFC lightweight, Dan Hooker in his corner, immediately forced flyweight newcomer, Garbrandt to fight from the fence in the opening exchanges, before timing the Ohio native and landing a flush shot — dropping him.

Chasing a wobbled Garbrandt down, Kara-France momentarily dropped Garbrandt again, before almost giving up a double leg takedown at the fence. Once again pressing the still rocked Garbrandt at the fence, the Auckland native knocked the former titleholder again, eventually forcing the finish and handing the latter his fifth loss in his last six UFC appearances.

Below, catch the highlights from Kai Kara-France’s win over Cody Garbrandt

Archives: Garbrandt Storms Off Joint-Interview To Look For Cruz (2016)

Cody Garbrandt has always been a bit of a hothead, and fans at home caught a live glimpse of this in 2016.

Tonight, both Cody Garbrandt and Dominick Cruz will be competing at UFC 269, but much has changed since their 2016 bout. For one thing, neith…

Dominick Cruz, Cody Garbrandt

Cody Garbrandt has always been a bit of a hothead, and fans at home caught a live glimpse of this in 2016.

Tonight, both Cody Garbrandt and Dominick Cruz will be competing at UFC 269, but much has changed since their 2016 bout. For one thing, neither man is in the top 5 at bantamweight anymore. In Garbrandt’s case, he isn’t even in the division at all.

But five years ago, Garbrandt had all the momentum in the world and an undefeated record. He also had a deep animosity for then-champion Dominick Cruz ahead of their UFC 207 bout. Don’t believe me? Look no further than the following article we ran five years ago.

The following article is presented in its original, unaltered form, courtesy of the MMA News Archives.

[ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED DECEMBER 28, 2016, 8:38 PM]

Headline: Video: Garbrandt Storms Off Joint-Interview With Cruz, Goes Looking For Him

Author: Matt Boone

Well, tensions are definitely rising, folks!

During their latest split-screen joint television interview, UFC Bantamweight Champion Dominick Cruz and Team Alpha Male contender Cody “No Love” Garbrandt reached their boiling point.

Featured above is an excerpt from the joint interview, which aired via The Fight Network based out of Canada, and saw Garbrandt threaten to leave and find Cruz, who he mentioned was only one room over from where he was currently sitting.

At that point, Garbrandt took his microphone off and apparently went in search of the reigning UFC 135-pound champion.

One day he won’t have to look for Cruz is this Friday, as Garbrandt becomes the latest member of the Team Alpha Male camp to try and dethrone the UFC’s longtime 135-pound champion when the two meet in the co-main event of Friday’s UFC 207: Nunes vs. Rousey pay-per-view event.

UFC 207: Nunes vs. Rousey takes place from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, airing live on pay-per-view this Friday, December 30th. Join us here at MMANews.com on Friday evening for live round-by-round results coverage of the UFC 207 pay-per-view.

For more of The Fight Network’s coverage of UFC 207: Nunes vs. Rousey, visit their official website at FightNetwork.com.

Continue Reading Archives: Garbrandt Storms Off Joint-Interview To Look For Cruz (2016) at MMA News.

Cody Garbrandt Plans To “Make A Splash” In Flyweight Debut At UFC 269

Former UFC Bantamweight Champion Cody Garbrandt says he’s ready to “make a splash” in his flyweight debut at UFC 269 this weekend.

In 2016, Garbrandt was 11-0 as a professional, held the 135-pound title after a remarkable performance against Domini…

Cody Garbrandt

Former UFC Bantamweight Champion Cody Garbrandt says he’s ready to “make a splash” in his flyweight debut at UFC 269 this weekend.

In 2016, Garbrandt was 11-0 as a professional, held the 135-pound title after a remarkable performance against Dominick Cruz, and looked set for a long reign on the throne. Fast forward five years and “No Love” finds himself 1-4 in his last five outings and firmly out of contention in a stacked bantamweight division.

With that in mind, the powerhouse is pursuing success in the fresh pastures of the flyweight weight class. He’ll look to show he has the speed to match the 125lbers and the same power as before when he faces Kai Kara-France this weekend at UFC 269.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CVG9r7ZP0NB/

Garbrandt Is Ready To Return To “Flow State”

Garbrandt was originally scheduled to move down last year to challenge for the title against former champion and current top contender Deiveson Figueiredo. After COVID-19 led to the bout’s cancelation, Garbrandt had one last hurrah at bantamweight in the form of a main event loss to Rob Font.

Now, the 30-year-old is ready to make an impact in a new environment. During an appearance at UFC 269 media day on Wednesday, Garbrandt discussed his decision to leave his old stomping ground and commit to a flyweight transition. Describing the switch as “inspired,” Garbrandt showed a newfound confidence in his first 125-pound fight week.

“We’ve been going back and forth on this, it’s been on my mind, I’m a doer. When I say I’m gonna do something, I’m gonna do it… It’s one of the best things I’ve done. I actually texted Dana (White) a couple weeks ago and was like, ‘I wish we would’ve done this a while ago…’ I’m inspired. I’m inspired for what’s about to take place on Saturday night. A new division, end of the year, great card, a good opponent, a worthy adversary; I’ve done everything I need to do to collect this win.”

The main discussion ahead of this weekend has surrounded whether or not Garbrandt’s famed speed and power will transition well to flyweight, a division known for fast-paced action. But “No Love” has zero concerns on that matter, and expects to “make a splash” on December 11.

“I feel like this is probably my more natural weight. I feel like a lot of the bantamweights are much larger. And I feel like that skillset, speed, power; I still have that at the division… I think anybody who steps inside that Octagon you have to respect. I just understand what’s gonna happen on Saturday night, and that’s why I’m excited… to pull from the past, I feel like this Saturday night will be a flow-state No Love… I’m here to make a splash in this division. I’m here to be a world champion. I’m here to be the best.”

Despite high-ranked contenders Askar Askarov and Alexandre Pantoja seemingly in line for future title shots, many, including Garbrandt himself, expect the former bantamweight champ to jump straight into the championship picture with a win this weekend. “No Love” even suggested he’d be willing to serve as backup for the trilogy fight between reigning king Brandon Moreno and Figueiredo at UFC 270 next month.

How do you think Cody Garbrandt’s flyweight debut will play out at UFC 269?

Continue Reading Cody Garbrandt Plans To “Make A Splash” In Flyweight Debut At UFC 269 at MMA News.

Cody Garbrandt: I Was Not Motivated For Rob Font Main Event

Cody Garbrandt is set to make his UFC flyweight debut and that has rejuvenated him of sorts.

Garbrandt, the former UFC bantamweight champ, has been on a bit of a skid as he’s 1-4 since winning the title, with three of the four losses coming by knoc…

Rob Font, Cody Garbrandt

Cody Garbrandt is set to make his UFC flyweight debut and that has rejuvenated him of sorts.

Garbrandt, the former UFC bantamweight champ, has been on a bit of a skid as he’s 1-4 since winning the title, with three of the four losses coming by knockout. In his last fight, he fought Rob Font in a Fight Night main event which the former champ says didn’t motivate him. He also says that made him not train and prepare as the way he should’ve for a fight against a skilled opponent in Font.

“This fight, if you’re comparing it to my last fight, I came here and was like, ‘Yeah, I feel good, I feel ready to go,’ but I didn’t prepare the way that I should’ve prepared, you know, for a five-round fight. And that’s the word that I hate to use is motivated. I was not motivated,” Garbrandt said at media day.

“This fight camp I’ve been inspired. I’ve been inspired this whole entire camp because it’s to do something that a few people have done. Yes, I’ve been a world champion, I’m a former world champion in a previous weight division; that’s a small percentage of humans being able to have that title to their name,” Garbrandt continued. “But even a smaller percentage of going to a different division and being a world champion as well, so I’m inspired by myself, but also a lot of people around me, for what’s about to take place Saturday, and that’s just the start of it.”

At UFC 269, Cody Garbrandt is set to face the sixth-ranked flyweight, Kai Kara-France in a very intriguing matchup. Garbrandt has never been the biggest bantamweight and the flyweight move has always been talked about. If all goes well on Saturday night, the next time he fights could be for the flyweight strap.

Do you think Cody Garbrandt will beat Kai Kara-France at UFC 269?

Continue Reading Cody Garbrandt: I Was Not Motivated For Rob Font Main Event at MMA News.