After an electric and crushing victory against Brazilian Thomas Almeida, Team Alpha Male’s Cody “No Love” Garbrandt earned some major respect while remaining undefeated as a professional. Garbrandt also positioned himself for a title run at the Bantamweight belt. His quick and technical striking overwhelmed Almeida from the opening bell, and his raw, impressive power earned him his fourth victory in the UFC and third by KO/TKO. Who he should fight next; however, is a hard question to answer.
The current Bantamweight champion, Dominick Cruz, is of course fighting #3 ranked Uriah Faber at the upcoming UFC 199. #1 ranked and former champion TJ Dillashaw will face off against #5 Raphael Assuncao at UFC 200 for what has to be the number one contender to battle the winner of Cruz vs. Faber 3. Renan Barao sits at the #2 spot but has moved to Featherweight and just suffered a loss to Jeremy “Lil’ Heathen” Stephens in last night’s co-main event.
#4 Aljamain Sterling was defeated last night as well by #8 Bryan Caraway, who will be looking for his next opponent too. #6 Michael “Mayday” Mcdonald will battle #11 John Lineker in July.
In the post fight press conference, Garbrandt expressed interest in fighting in his home state of Ohio at UFC 203 in Cleveland.
Because Almeida was Garbrandt’s first ranked opponent, Garbrandt could just be given another ranked opponent, even one who currently sits behind Almeida. While that fight may seem to be taking a step backward, it would give him a chance to feature on a pay-per-view main card as a ranked fighter while allowing him another chance to establish himself further. He is probably still behind Bryan Caraway at this point. If Michael Mcdonald wins his next fight, then perhaps Caraway and McDonald would square off for the next number one contender spot.
Depending on where Garbrant is ranked, he could fight the loser of Dillashaw vs. Assuncao, but that would be a quick turn for both of those fighters to get ready for UFC 203. “Rewarding” Garbrandt with the loser of a match also seems a bit unproductive too.
Garbrandt refused to call anyone out after his victory last night, however. He said he would be happy with any ranked fighter for UFC 203, a request the UFC will certainly be glad to oblige. The Team Alpha Male product is on the fast track to UFC gold, stating his case that the future is now.
After an electric and crushing victory against Brazilian Thomas Almeida, Team Alpha Male’s Cody “No Love” Garbrandt earned some major respect while remaining undefeated as a professional. Garbrandt also positioned himself for a title run at the Bantamweight belt. His quick and technical striking overwhelmed Almeida from the opening bell, and his raw, impressive power earned him his fourth victory in the UFC and third by KO/TKO. Who he should fight next; however, is a hard question to answer.
The current Bantamweight champion, Dominick Cruz, is of course fighting #3 ranked Uriah Faber at the upcoming UFC 199. #1 ranked and former champion TJ Dillashaw will face off against #5 Raphael Assuncao at UFC 200 for what has to be the number one contender to battle the winner of Cruz vs. Faber 3. Renan Barao sits at the #2 spot but has moved to Featherweight and just suffered a loss to Jeremy “Lil’ Heathen” Stephens in last night’s co-main event.
#4 Aljamain Sterling was defeated last night as well by #8 Bryan Caraway, who will be looking for his next opponent too. #6 Michael “Mayday” Mcdonald will battle #11 John Lineker in July.
In the post fight press conference, Garbrandt expressed interest in fighting in his home state of Ohio at UFC 203 in Cleveland.
Because Almeida was Garbrandt’s first ranked opponent, Garbrandt could just be given another ranked opponent, even one who currently sits behind Almeida. While that fight may seem to be taking a step backward, it would give him a chance to feature on a pay-per-view main card as a ranked fighter while allowing him another chance to establish himself further. He is probably still behind Bryan Caraway at this point. If Michael Mcdonald wins his next fight, then perhaps Caraway and McDonald would square off for the next number one contender spot.
Depending on where Garbrant is ranked, he could fight the loser of Dillashaw vs. Assuncao, but that would be a quick turn for both of those fighters to get ready for UFC 203. “Rewarding” Garbrandt with the loser of a match also seems a bit unproductive too.
Garbrandt refused to call anyone out after his victory last night, however. He said he would be happy with any ranked fighter for UFC 203, a request the UFC will certainly be glad to oblige. The Team Alpha Male product is on the fast track to UFC gold, stating his case that the future is now.
The mixed martial arts world was treated to an excellent night of scraps tonight (May 29, 2016), as UFC Fight Night 88 popped off from the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. The evening was highlighted by the explosive brawl between Brazilian Thomas Almeida and Cody “No Love” Garbrandt. The fans got exactly
The mixed martial arts world was treated to an excellent night of scraps tonight (May 29, 2016), as UFC Fight Night 88 popped off from the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. The evening was highlighted by the explosive brawl between Brazilian Thomas Almeida and Cody “No Love” Garbrandt.
The fans got exactly what they came to see, as the two undefeated bantamweight prospects turned in the slugfest we were all hoping for. It just didn’t last very long. The Team Alpha Male export proved too much for Almeida, shutting off the lights with a right hand to the jaw in the very first round.
The co-main event also saw a tense standup battle, as former bantamweight champion Renan Barao made his long-awaited move up the scale to 145 pounds. There to greet him was longtime slugger Jeremy Stephens.
The greeting turned out to be a rude one. “Lil Heathen” rocked Barao several times during their back-and-forth clash, earning a unanimous nod from the judges and putting the rest of the featherweight division on notice in the process.
See how the MMA Twittersphere reacted to these two excellent bouts:
Good thing we probably don’t need those three stooges tonight. Now that I say that we’re gonna get a wacky decision.
With an opportunity to rise to the enviable position as the clear-cut future of the UFC bantamweight division, previously unranked knockout artist Cody Garbrandt delivered in the biggest spot of his career when he knocked out Thomas Almeida in the main event of tonight’s (Sun., May 29, 2016) UFC Fight Night 88 from the Mandalay Bay Events
With an opportunity to rise to the enviable position as the clear-cut future of the UFC bantamweight division, previously unranked knockout artist Cody Garbrandt delivered in the biggest spot of his career when he knocked out Thomas Almeida in the main event of tonight’s (Sun., May 29, 2016) UFC Fight Night 88 from the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.
It wasn’t all that close, either, as Garbrandt stalked and battered the massively hyped Almeida early and often to hand the young Brazilian his first-ever loss in MMA. Now owning four straight wins in the UFC, Garbrandt has stormed onto the 135-pound title picture and should be set for a high-profile bout next, possibly in the UFC’s Cleveland debut in his home state of Ohio this September.
For now, watch the full fight video highlights of “No Love’s” biggest win here:
Renan Barao was looking to make a successful debut at 145 pounds when he met veteran Jeremy Stephens in the co-main vent of last night’s (Sun., May 29, 2016) UFC Fight Night 88 from the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, but “Lil’ Heathen” obviously had different plans in mind. Stephens spoiled “The Baron’s”
Renan Barao was looking to make a successful debut at 145 pounds when he met veteran Jeremy Stephens in the co-main vent of last night’s (Sun., May 29, 2016) UFC Fight Night 88 from the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, but “Lil’ Heathen” obviously had different plans in mind.
Stephens spoiled “The Baron’s” attempt to reinvent his career at featherweight (at least for the time being) by taking home a close unanimous decision win. In a back-and-forth affair, Stephens absorbed a ton of punishment to dish out even more on Barao, badly rocking the former bantamweight champ with a jaw-dropping barrage of right uppercuts in the second round.
Watch the full fight video highlights of his big win over Barao right here:
There was a well-rounded mix of performances at tonight’s (Sun., May 29, 2016) UFC Fight Night 88 from the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, but none rang as true as surging bantamweight contender Cody Garbrandt’s first-round knockout of Thomas Almeida in the main event. For the win, Garbrandt earned the first “Performance of
There was a well-rounded mix of performances at tonight’s (Sun., May 29, 2016) UFC Fight Night 88 from the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, but none rang as true as surging bantamweight contender Cody Garbrandt’s first-round knockout of Thomas Almeida in the main event.
For the win, Garbrandt earned the first “Performance of the Night” bonus on the card, taking home $50,000 for his finest effort.
The second “Performance of the Night” went to middleweight Jake Collier, who rallied back from having his nose broken by debuting Alberto Pereira Uda in the first round with a vicious onslaught of spinning back kicks to the body in the second, scoring the comeback finish.
“Fight of the Night” expectedly went to the co-main event scrap between Jeremy Stephens and Renan Barao, who was making his featherweight debut after losing his bantamweight title. Both fighters landed a ton of shots and did a ton of damage, with Stephens absolutely battering Barao with a never-ending stream of uppercuts in the second frame. But Barao controlled the grappling, and also nailed Stephens with a ton of hard strikes in a back-and-forth affair that both men deserved to earn a bonus for.
