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Cody Garbrandt eyes Conor McGregor and Jose Aldo for Summer Bout

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Garbrandt is looking towards Conor McGregor and Jose Aldo for “big fights” over a defence of his new title.

UFC 207 was the platform from which we witnessed the spectacular destruction of a great in Ronda Rousey. Years from now, it is a distinct possibility that we will also remember January 30th 2016 as the first time we witnessed the greatness of Cody Garbrandt. A resounding underdog to one of MMA’s greatest fighters in Dominick Cruz, the 25 year old exhibited a coolness and confidence many did not expect. To put the magnitude of this win into perspective, “No Love” dominated a champion who had not lost a fight since 2007 (against fellow Team Alpha Male legend Urijah Faber).

There was another bout of interest in the men’s bantamweight division on Friday night. #2 ranked 135lb TJ Dillashaw looked slick in his unanimous decision victory over the dangerous John Lineker, in a performance befitting of a shot at the title Cruz claimed from him last year. Dillashaw, also an ex-Team Alpha Male member, engaged in a war of words with Garbrandt prior to UFC 207, and will be alongside Cruz as the candidate for the champ’s first defence. Or so it would seem, right?

According to Garbrandt, however, this is not the case.

Appearing on The MMA Hour on Monday, the Sacramento based fighter confirmed to Ariel Helwani that his interests are in the champions of the 145 & 155lb classes, currently occupied by no other than Jose Aldo and Conor McGregor, respectively:

“I need to sit down with Dana [White] and Sean [Shelby] and find out the biggest money fight for me,” said the 25-year-old. “I know I can go up and fight with Jose Aldo: he has wins over my teammates. He is a legend and I’d like to test his chin. I know I hit hard and I’m just getting started.”

“I could also have the biggest fight with Conor [McGregor]. I could easily go up. My homie Nate Diaz choked him out, and I can’t believe he’s pound-for-pound No. 2 on the list, with, you know he got choked out.”

“I want the biggest money fight for me right now.”

Friday night’s victory over the champion was certainly a huge step towards UFC stardom; Garbrandt made it look so simple, which was a feat considering he was expected by many to be schooled by Cruz. The fighter who is now 11-0 in MMA is certain he could mix it with Conor McGregor and Jose Aldo:

“There’s a lot of fights for me in the division, in the UFC division,” he said. “I am young enough to go up, and I’ll fight anybody. But to be honest, I truly believe that I’m ready to fight and I believe that I go out there and put on a performance. And I’m a draw. I want the biggest money fight for me right now. I think that I saw Jose Aldo say that he’d like to fight me, I’d like to test his chin. Like I said, he’s got wins over my teammates and I want to get every one of those back”.

“And you know, Conor [McGregor], too. He knows that I’d go up to 150 and catchweight with him. Jose Aldo I’ll go up to 45. But yeah. I’m excited for the potential match-ups for me. I feel like I’m one of the biggest draws. I’m the biggest draw for Conor in the division, you know what I mean? I’m a rising star. Jose Aldo needs a fight. I think that he went out there and said that he’d like to fight me too.”

When asked about his next fight, the new king of the bantamweight division is looking towards a return to the octagon this summer:

“I think so, say June maybe, before summer,” he said. “Yeah, I think that would be a great time to come back and give somebody an ass-whooping. But yeah, me and Conor McGregor had the beef on The Ultimate Fighter. I mean, have nothing against the guy as far as a fighter. It’s a business to me. But I’ll tell you what, somebody puts their hands on me and I didn’t do shit about it, I’d be wanting to get them back each time. That’s for sure.”

Watch Garbrandt and McGregor lock horns in The Ultimate Fighter 22: in October 2015:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ec0uMQu25ZM

Garbrandt is looking towards Conor McGregor and Jose Aldo for “big fights” over a defence of his new title.

According to Garbrandt, however, this is not the case.

“I need to sit down with Dana [White] and Sean [Shelby] and find out the biggest money fight for me,” said the 25-year-old. “I know I can go up and fight with Jose Aldo: he has wins over my teammates. He is a legend and I’d like to test his chin. I know I hit hard and I’m just getting started.”

“I could also have the biggest fight with Conor [McGregor]. I could easily go up. My homie Nate Diaz choked him out, and I can’t believe he’s pound-for-pound No. 2 on the list, with, you know he got choked out.”

“I want the biggest money fight for me right now.”

“There’s a lot of fights for me in the division, in the UFC division,” he said. “I am young enough to go up, and I’ll fight anybody. But to be honest, I truly believe that I’m ready to fight and I believe that I go out there and put on a performance. And I’m a draw. I want the biggest money fight for me right now. I think that I saw Jose Aldo say that he’d like to fight me, I’d like to test his chin. Like I said, he’s got wins over my teammates and I want to get every one of those back”.

“And you know, Conor [McGregor], too. He knows that I’d go up to 150 and catchweight with him. Jose Aldo I’ll go up to 45. But yeah. I’m excited for the potential match-ups for me. I feel like I’m one of the biggest draws. I’m the biggest draw for Conor in the division, you know what I mean? I’m a rising star. Jose Aldo needs a fight. I think that he went out there and said that he’d like to fight me too.”

When asked about his next fight, the new king of the bantamweight division is looking towards a return to the octagon this summer:

“I think so, say June maybe, before summer,” he said. “Yeah, I think that would be a great time to come back and give somebody an ass-whooping. But yeah, me and Conor McGregor had the beef on The Ultimate Fighter. I mean, have nothing against the guy as far as a fighter. It’s a business to me. But I’ll tell you what, somebody puts their hands on me and I didn’t do shit about it, I’d be wanting to get them back each time. That’s for sure.”

Watch Garbrandt and McGregor lock horns in The Ultimate Fighter 22: in October 2015:

Cody Garbrandt eyes Conor McGregor and Jose Aldo for Summer Bout

Garbrandt is looking towards Conor McGregor and Jose Aldo for “big fights” over a defence of his new title.

According to Garbrandt, however, this is not the case.

“I need to sit down with Dana [White] and Sean [Shelby] and find out the biggest money fight for me,” said the 25-year-old. “I know I can go up and fight with Jose Aldo: he has wins over my teammates. He is a legend and I’d like to test his chin. I know I hit hard and I’m just getting started.”

“I could also have the biggest fight with Conor [McGregor]. I could easily go up. My homie Nate Diaz choked him out, and I can’t believe he’s pound-for-pound No. 2 on the list, with, you know he got choked out.”

“I want the biggest money fight for me right now.”

“There’s a lot of fights for me in the division, in the UFC division,” he said. “I am young enough to go up, and I’ll fight anybody. But to be honest, I truly believe that I’m ready to fight and I believe that I go out there and put on a performance. And I’m a draw. I want the biggest money fight for me right now. I think that I saw Jose Aldo say that he’d like to fight me, I’d like to test his chin. Like I said, he’s got wins over my teammates and I want to get every one of those back”.

“And you know, Conor [McGregor], too. He knows that I’d go up to 150 and catchweight with him. Jose Aldo I’ll go up to 45. But yeah. I’m excited for the potential match-ups for me. I feel like I’m one of the biggest draws. I’m the biggest draw for Conor in the division, you know what I mean? I’m a rising star. Jose Aldo needs a fight. I think that he went out there and said that he’d like to fight me too.”

When asked about his next fight, the new king of the bantamweight division is looking towards a return to the octagon this summer:

“I think so, say June maybe, before summer,” he said. “Yeah, I think that would be a great time to come back and give somebody an ass-whooping. But yeah, me and Conor McGregor had the beef on The Ultimate Fighter. I mean, have nothing against the guy as far as a fighter. It’s a business to me. But I’ll tell you what, somebody puts their hands on me and I didn’t do shit about it, I’d be wanting to get them back each time. That’s for sure.”

Watch Garbrandt and McGregor lock horns in The Ultimate Fighter 22: in October 2015:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ec0uMQu25ZM

Garbrandt is looking towards Conor McGregor and Jose Aldo for “big fights” over a defence of his new title.

According to Garbrandt, however, this is not the case.

“I need to sit down with Dana [White] and Sean [Shelby] and find out the biggest money fight for me,” said the 25-year-old. “I know I can go up and fight with Jose Aldo: he has wins over my teammates. He is a legend and I’d like to test his chin. I know I hit hard and I’m just getting started.”

“I could also have the biggest fight with Conor [McGregor]. I could easily go up. My homie Nate Diaz choked him out, and I can’t believe he’s pound-for-pound No. 2 on the list, with, you know he got choked out.”

“I want the biggest money fight for me right now.”

“There’s a lot of fights for me in the division, in the UFC division,” he said. “I am young enough to go up, and I’ll fight anybody. But to be honest, I truly believe that I’m ready to fight and I believe that I go out there and put on a performance. And I’m a draw. I want the biggest money fight for me right now. I think that I saw Jose Aldo say that he’d like to fight me, I’d like to test his chin. Like I said, he’s got wins over my teammates and I want to get every one of those back”.

“And you know, Conor [McGregor], too. He knows that I’d go up to 150 and catchweight with him. Jose Aldo I’ll go up to 45. But yeah. I’m excited for the potential match-ups for me. I feel like I’m one of the biggest draws. I’m the biggest draw for Conor in the division, you know what I mean? I’m a rising star. Jose Aldo needs a fight. I think that he went out there and said that he’d like to fight me too.”

When asked about his next fight, the new king of the bantamweight division is looking towards a return to the octagon this summer:

“I think so, say June maybe, before summer,” he said. “Yeah, I think that would be a great time to come back and give somebody an ass-whooping. But yeah, me and Conor McGregor had the beef on The Ultimate Fighter. I mean, have nothing against the guy as far as a fighter. It’s a business to me. But I’ll tell you what, somebody puts their hands on me and I didn’t do shit about it, I’d be wanting to get them back each time. That’s for sure.”

Watch Garbrandt and McGregor lock horns in The Ultimate Fighter 22: in October 2015:

UFC: Don’t Forget, Garbrandt vs. Dillashaw Is Fixing to Be Seriously Interesting

We all got kind of caught up there for a few minutes, didn’t we?
UFC 207 was mostly on the radar for Ronda Rousey’s return, and once she spent 48 seconds serving as Amanda Nunes’ punching bag, it felt like there almost wasn’t room to talk about anythin…

We all got kind of caught up there for a few minutes, didn’t we?

UFC 207 was mostly on the radar for Ronda Rousey’s return, and once she spent 48 seconds serving as Amanda Nunes’ punching bag, it felt like there almost wasn’t room to talk about anything else.

Still, moments before Rousey’s compelling, if highly unspectacular, comeback, Cody Garbrandt put an exclamation point on a pretty good little run of his own.

After months of verbal jousting with Dominick Cruz—exchanges which Cruz’s minions and countless members of the media were seemingly awarding to him on an almost nightly basis—Garbrandt ended his undefeated streak of almost 10 years in incredible fashion.

He shucked and jived around Cruz, countering and peppering him with crisp combinations that seemingly ended with a dance move or two on every exit.

He swatted and slapped at Cruz, the fistic equivalent of a parent disciplining a child right down to the occasional scolding pointed finger when his shots would land.

He knocked Cruz down almost at his leisure and then begged him to get up so he could do it again, the epitome of a measured, focused athlete who most people simply refused to believe was inside of the man who stormed off from an interview out of sheer frustration only days earlier.

He didn’t go win a title at UFC 207, he straight up took one.

In the post-fight press conference Garbrandt, perhaps more popular than ever after handing his title over to a sick child before it was warm on his own waist, lobbied for a rematch with Cruz given his lofty status in bantamweight history.

However, not long before he dispatched Cruz, former champion TJ Dillashaw put on one of the best performances of his career against John Lineker and finally started to run his mouth enough to get some attention once they put a microphone in front of him.

To those with short memories, it may be that this was just a case of a top contender wanting his belt back and finally making some noise in the name of getting it. To those who recall exactly how both Dillashaw and Garbrandt became world champions though, there’s a lot more at play.

The two are former teammates, both proteges of Urijah Faber at the legendary little guy factory of Team Alpha Male. Over the course of 2013 and 2014, then-striking coach Duane Ludwig developed Dillashaw into one of the division’s top strikers by building a shifty, unorthodox style that built off Dillashaw’s athleticism and quickness as a long, smallish bantamweight.

The results were astonishing.

Dillashaw took off, blitzing everyone in front of him until he earned a title shot at UFC 173. Not entirely unlike Garbrandt—who was an undefeated regional fighter at the time—at UFC 207, Dillashaw put one of the all-time great challenger-on-champion beatings on Renan Barao, shocking the world to reach the top of the mountain.

Not long after, however, Ludwig left Alpha Male due to disagreements with Faber, and Dillashaw followed him. It was a move that didn’t sit well with most of Alpha Male, as Faber was quite publicly distraught and others voiced displeasure. Now a UFC prospect and one not keen on perceived violations of loyalty, Garbrandt was one of the most vocal. When Dillashaw finally lost the title (to Cruz, incidentally), Garbrandt said to Submission Radio (Warning: Link contains NSFW language) of him:

“If our team ain’t good enough for you motherf—-r then get the f–k out…[t]hat’s some bulls–t. You left your family and your friends here to go to Denver and look what that got you. You got your ass beat.”

All of this is to say, as we enjoyed the excitement of Rousey’s return and the fun Cruz and Garbrandt were providing heading into UFC 207, we kind of forgot what was lurking in the bantamweight class with a few lucky breaks.

Dillashaw’s win and Garbrandt’s stunning success were those very breaks, providing an incoming payoff to one of the best feuds in the business. It’s a chance for Alpha Male to finally get a crack at Dillashaw for leaving, and its golden boy will have a chance to do it.

Dana White says Dillashaw will have his day, and he’d be mad to pass up the chance to cash in on booking his hottest new champion with a man he genuinely despises. Much of the hate with Cruz was manufactured over the course of a few months and almost out of nowhere, whereas the Dillashaw stuff has been festering for years and is very, very real.

Look how well that turned out.

It will only be better with Dillashaw, and the excitement can begin once the UFC formally books it.

Follow me on Twitter @matthewjryder!

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Amanda Nunes’ UFC 207 Win Shows How Women’s MMA Is Evolving

Only one title changed hands last night at UFC 207 from Las Vegas, but it felt like two did. The two championship bouts also demonstrated how much further women’s MMA still has to go, despite the progress it has made with the star power of Ronda Rousey. Amanda Nunes was the defending champion in the

The post Amanda Nunes’ UFC 207 Win Shows How Women’s MMA Is Evolving appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Amanda Nunes was the defending champion in the main event, but she was certainly not the bigger attraction, not even close. The vast majority of the pre-fight build-up was focused on Ronda Rousey, the primary storyline concerned with her comeback.

UFC commentator Joe Rogan famously questioned the company’s marketing strategy leading up to UFC 207. To Rogan, leaving the champion out or giving her only a small spot in the promotion didn’t make sense. Nunes was the “reigning, defending, undisputed” champion, had beaten the woman who beat the woman who knocked Rousey out.

Not only was the UFC missing the chance to create another bankable star, but they actively diminished Nunes’ accomplishments to get where she was.

Thus to many casual fans, Nunes was doubtless merely a nameless, faceless golem whom Rousey would try to overcome after she first purged her personal demons. With the promo she cut after the fight, people will hopefully know Nunes now.

Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas of USA Today Sports

While the result was not necessarily surprising – I and many others picked Nunes – the manner in which she dispatched Rousey was. It was a clinical dissection, a mollywhopping of nearly unprecedented proportions in a fight at this level.

In the aftermath of the Rousey’s defeat to Holly Holm, there was a great deal of revisionist history regarding Rousey’s skills. Many wrongly claimed that she had never been that good to begin with. Her three and a half year stranglehold on the division, the manner in which she dominated her opponents, and the intimidating force she presented at the top prove otherwise. She was undeniably talented. Her combination of physicality and unbelievable grappling ability will make her a legitimate threat to any woman she ever faces, should she decide to step into the Octagon again.

What was obvious in hindsight after UFC 193 was that her striking, particularly her defense, never made any demonstrable strides. Even in fights she won, even those she won by knockout, Rousey was there to be hit. She was decked cleanly by Miesha Tate, Sara McMann, and Bethe Correia. As soon as someone forced her to strike without engaging in a wild brawl, Rousey faltered.

In Nunes, Rousey faced a woman whose punching power exceeded even her own, and it quickly became apparent that she had not adequately shorn up the holes in her defense. “The Lioness” battered her at range, punished her for trying to close the distance, and quickly extricated herself the few times Rousey was able to lay hands on her. The final nails in the coffin of Rousey’s invincibility were driven home soon after.

Nunes, like Holm before her, was a bad stylistic matchup for Rousey. And that is what sets the women’s bantamweight division apart from the men’s at this point. Who sits atop the women’s 135-pound division depends largely on the styles of the two fighters vying for that seat. “Styles make fights,” as they say. The old adage still applies to MMA in general, but nowhere is that more apparent than women’s bantamweight.

Holm’s counter striking and ability to stay out of the clinch and off the ground made her a bad matchup for Rousey. Tate struggled with the same things when she tried to dethrone Holm, but her superior wrestling allowed to her to come back, finish the fight, and take the title it seemed she would never win from Rousey. Nunes’ crazy athleticism and powerful punching were able to exploit Tate’s own poor striking defense and tendency to get clocked early in fights.

Nunes herself, despite her evisceration of Rousey, is not without her own flaws. She doesn’t offer much from her back when she is taken down and her poor gas tank nearly cost her a shot at the belt against Valentina Shevchenko. If “Bullet” can get by Julianna Pena, she might be able to in a five-round fight against Nunes. So, too, could Holm. The point being that most women, even at the top of the sport, have clear holes in their games and rely largely on one or two strengths to win.

We see this kind of thing less in championship MMA on the men’s side these days. There are men like Demetrious Johnson, Jose Aldo, Jon Jones, and Dominick Cruz who do everything well. They are among the best in the world at striking, wrestling, grappling, and fighting in the clinch.

That’s not to say the women’s side of MMA is worse than the men’s, in fact, female MMA has obviously been a huge boost to fighting overall and has evolved the sports to never-before-imagined levels. It’s just that it hasn’t had the same amount of time to adapt and evolve at the highest levels, and Nunes is clearly the personification of that despite her flaws.

That makes Cody Garbrandt’s dismantling of Cruz all the more impressive. There was no obvious weakness in “The Dominator’s” skillset. But Garbrandt’s hand speed allowed him to counter when Cruz lunged forward with punches, his wrestling ability and athleticism helped him stuff Cruz’s takedowns, and his poise enabled him to stick to his gameplan and not try to bull rush Cruz.

What separates men’s and women’s championship MMA at this point are the strategic nuances and the small in-fight adjustments necessary to beat a fighter like Cruz. Or to be a long-standing champion like Johnson, Jones, or Aldo. Women’s MMA hasn’t existed at the highest levels or received mainstream exposure for very long, so these things will come.

In addition to looking forward to Nunes’ next fight, I’m excited to see how female MMA continues to close the gap. That will result in fights that are just as compelling during the scrap as they are to consider beforehand.

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UFC 207 Sets All-Time Attendance Record For UFC Events in Las Vegas

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2UW6XKvxeE

The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) held its final event of 2016 this past Friday night (Dec. 30). UFC 207 took place inside the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The pay-per-view (PPV) featured two title …

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2UW6XKvxeE

The UFC has been known to put on major events in Las Vegas. When the T-Mobile Arena opened back in April, the organization jumped at the chance to book UFC 200 inside the new venue. That event held the attendance record for the arena and UFC events in Las Vegas, but not for long.

UFC president Dana White joined the UFC’s FOX Sports 1 panel and talked about the feat:

“The first time ever in T-Mobile [Arena], we broke the attendance tonight. [It’s] the first time they opened up standing room only. Almost 20,000 people here, the largest fight ever in Las Vegas.”

The official number is 18,533. UFC 200 drew an attendance of 18,202. The live gate of UFC 207 didn’t do as well with $4.75 million as opposed to UFC 200’s $10.7 million.

UFC 207’s headliner saw Amanda Nunes defend her women’s bantamweight title against “Rowdy.” Nunes showed the world why she’s the champion with a 48-second thrashing of the former 135-pound ruler. The victory was so devastating that “people were crying” leaving the arena if you believe White.

Perhaps the biggest stunner of the night to long-time fans of mixed martial arts (MMA) was Cody Garbrandt’s performance against Dominick Cruz. With all the buildup leading up to the fight, many believed “No Love” would look to take Cruz’s head off in the first round. Instead, we saw a patient and technical challenger who forced the champion to play his game. Garbrandt’s quickness and power helped earn him a unanimous decision win and the bantamweight championship.

The UFC’s first event of 2017 will showcase a featherweight battle between rising 145-pounder Yair Rodriguez and former two-division champion B.J. Penn. The event takes place on Jan. 15 and will air on FOX Sports 1.

Cody Garbrandt: Everyone Believed The Hype About Cruz In The Matrix

The post Cody Garbrandt: Everyone Believed The Hype About Cruz In The Matrix appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Bringing in the end of a wild year for the UFC, the last pay-per-view of 2016 was sheer entertainment. Featuring stacks of great fights, UFC 207 delivered with a duo of bantamweight title fights. Winning ‘fight of the night’ honors was the co-main event of the evening, and it was an intense brawl. Coming in to UFC 207, many were picking Dominick Cruz to retain his title. Cody Garbrandt, although on a killer streak, appeared to be succumbing to his own emotions. Relentlessly trash talking in the lead up, ‘The Dominator’ had everyone, myself included, sold on his fifth title defense in the UFC.

Nothing is certain in this sport though, and ‘No Love’ delivered a beautifully technical performance at UFC 207. The Team Alpha Male vs. Cruz rivalry got a win on the TAM side for the first time in nine years. Garbrandt was doing the robot, posing for cameras as he landed crushing power punches. Dropping Cruz and making him miss like never before, the 25-year old put in a career performance hat won him a unanimous decision. During a 24-fight career with 22 wins, this is the first time Cruz ever lost a decision. Ironically, Garbrandt made Cruz look like so many of his own opponents, whiffing strikes and hitting nothing but air.

New Year, New Champ

Although the long-standing feud will likely continue, Cody Garbrandt was respectful when talking about Dominick Cruz. Speaking at the post fight press conference, ‘No Love’ pointed out Cruz’s accomplishments, but also says he was surprised in the octagon. As per MMAMania.com:

“I was really just curious to see his speed, his angles,” said Garbrandt during the UFC 207 post-fight press conference. “Everyone believed the hype of him being … he’s The Matrix, he’s a ghost in there. He’s great. I’m not taking nothing away from him, but I was almost in shock he was as slow as he was in his movements and his angles weren’t there.”

“That’s when it changed right there,” added Garbrandt. “He didn’t like that blood running down his face. That’s when I said, ‘Dominick, are you having fun yet?’ And he didn’t answer me. In the first and second round, he would answer me back each time. That’s right then, I knew that he wasn’t having fun in the fight.”

Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Having Fun

Garbrandt addresses his numerous taunts when scoring knockdowns and avoiding Cruz’s strikes:

“I was just living in the moment,” said Garbrandt. “I was just having fun out there and enjoying it. It was a great fight. I had so much fun in there. He’s a great sh*t talker. He knows a lot of good words. He speaks well. Sh*t, I couldn’t read until I was in the third grade. I barely graduated high school. I knew what I was getting into with him. I knew I couldn’t let his words and his trash talk get me emotional in there.”

Happy New Year folks, let’s hope 2017 brings us as much joy and entertainment as last year did!

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