Tag: UFC 217

‘The Black Beast’ Reacts To Cody Garbrandt’s Controversial Tweets

“The Black Beast” responded to Cody Garbrandt’s controversial tweets.

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Yesterday, the MMA world was beset by controversy stemming from some old tweets sent by former UFC bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt.

Set to face longtime rival TJ Dillashaw in the main event of tomorrow night’s (Sat., August 4, 2018) UFC 227 from the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, the last thing “No Love” needed was a distraction following his second-round knockout loss to “The Viper” in their first match-up at last November’s UFC 217.

It surfaced, however, when some tweets from 2012-2013 showing Garbrandt using some allegedly racist language were posted for all to see. The knockout slugger was quiet at first in his reactions, but then came out with a full explanation about it before abruptly ending the interview.

“No Love” is understandably looking to focus on his title fight this weekend, but many are still knocking him for the controversial posts. With heat on his back for supposedly being a racist, one of the UFC’s most outspoken African-American fighters actually came to his defense. Check out what Derrick ‘The Black Beast’ Lewis had to say about the tweets:

Lewis is forgiving of the Team Alpha Male fighter, but many on social media are not as understanding.

Who do you side with – Lewis, or those who insist Garbrandt should be judged on his tweets from five years ago?

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Cody Garbrandt Ends Interview Focused On ‘N-Word’ Tweets

Cody Garbrandt ended an interview when the discussion focused on his controversial tweets.

The post Cody Garbrandt Ends Interview Focused On ‘N-Word’ Tweets appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

He may have a pivotal championship rematch with TJ Dillashaw at this weekend’s (Sat., August 4, 2018), but much of the focus on Cody Garbrandt in the lead-up to the fight has been fixated on some old tweets he sent using some controversial language.

The social media posts from 2012-2013 surfaced online depicting several instances where Garbrandt had used a version of an offensive racial slur, inciting the obvious social media backlash from what was most likelly several angles.

Check out the tweets and judge for yourself:

Garbrandt briefly reacted to the issue by saying he had sent the tweets ‘when he was a teenager’ despite the timeline clearly dictating that he was 21 or 22 years old at yesterday’s UFC 227 open workouts, saying he ‘wouldn’t even address that’:

“I won’t even address that. That was when I was a teenager,” Garbrandt responded. “Anyway, next question.”


But when the topic resurfaced as expected during today’s UFC 227 media day, Garbrandt became more vocal on the subject. Speaking out in an interview with MMAjunkie, Garbrandt said that what he posted years ago wasn’t actually something to be embarrassed about:

“First and foremost, it shouldn’t be embarrasing,” Garbrandt told MMAjunkie’s John Morgan on Thursday. “I’m going to be a man and address it once, and that’s it.”

“No Love” explained that the words he tweeted were simply lyrics from a song of his past, focusing on his view that he had grown up with people of all cultures and races so it was normal at that time. Now, he said it was a learning experience:

“It’s lyrics,” Garbrandt said. “I grew up hanging out with blacks, Puerto Ricans, Mexicans, selling drugs. That’s a street word we would always say. It wasn’t like I was using derogatory words toward anyone. That’s how we grew up. It was kind of normal. That’s it. It’s a learning experience for a lot of people to not use that word in this day an age.”

While many will still deride the former bantamweight champion for his choice of words in such a public forum online, Garbrandt appeared a bit perturbed by the amount of attention being paid to tweets he sent so long ago. It became so much so that “No Love” asserted his focus was on nothing but the fight as people tried to bring him down, and even ended the interview to avoid further discussing the issue:

“Everyone’s just trying to figure out some negativity,” he said. “I’m so positive, and I have great things going on this week. Nothing’s deterring me from my focus. That’s that. It’s the last time I’ll address this question. And I’m actually done with this interview with you, as well.”

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Video: Watch TJ Dillashaw & Cody Garbrandt’s Intense UFC 227 Staredown

Watch TJ Dillashaw & Cody Garbrandt’s heated staredown at the UFC 227 media day:

The post Video: Watch TJ Dillashaw & Cody Garbrandt’s Intense UFC 227 Staredown appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Top bantamweights TJ Dillashaw and Cody Garbrandt will throw down in the second chapter of their ongoing rivalry when they meet for the title in the main event of this Saturday night’s (August 4, 2018) UFC 227 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California.

The bout comes with the obvious and longstanding beef of their prior friendship at Team Alpha Male, Urijah Faber’s respected camp where “The Viper” became champion and then left for what he thought were greener pastures with striking coach Duane Ludwig. It’s certainly a rivalry full of bad blood, yet it’s also one that much of the MMA world has most likely grown tired of since Dillashaw and Garbrandt coached The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) opposite one another back in early 2017.

The rivalry may not end at UFC 227 either, because a Garbrandt victory would most likely lead to a trilogy fight between the onetime friends. Whether that’s a good thing or not, the fight will go on. And while the build-up to their first meeting at last November’s UFC 217 was heated and full of trash talk, this one has been noticeably more calm from the normally hot-headed “No Love.”

Both fighters are steel-focused and intense on leaving Los Angeles with the belt, however, and that shone through in their intense staredown at today’s UFC 227 media day. Watch it here:

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Cody Garbrandt Responds To Controversial Tweets Involving Alleged Racism

Not a good look for Cody Garbrandt.

The post Cody Garbrandt Responds To Controversial Tweets Involving Alleged Racism appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

This is the last thing Cody Garbrandt needs heading into his bantamweight title rematch with TJ Dillashaw in the main event of this week’s (Sat., August 4, 2018) UFC 227 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California.

With the spotlight on “No Love” heading into his pressure-filled second fight with former teammate and current archrival Dillashaw from L.A., a distraction involving some old tweets Garbrandt posted in 2012-2013 has incited a minor scandal involving the former UFC bantamweight champion.

A photo of Garbrandt’s tweets of him using some very frowned-upon language surfaced this week:

Word spreads quickly online, and “No Love” was soon questioned about by Sherdog’s Anthony Walker during the UFC 227 media day. In response, Garbrandt said he ‘wouldn’t even address that’ after claiming he was a teenager when he sent them:

Walker: “You’re probably already aware of some unflattering tweets that resurfaced today. Do you want to take a moment to address that?”

Garbrandt: “I won’t even address that. That was when I was a teenager,” Garbrandt responded. “Anyway, next question.”

He was quite a bit younger when he sent them, but based on the timeline he was at least 21 years old when he posted them. Social media expectedly jumped all over Garbrandt, pointing to his #AllLivesMatter tweet from 2016 and the fact that he called African-American bantamweight contender Aljamain Sterling “boy” in a social media trash talk battle last year.

For what it’s worth, Garbrandt has since deleted all of said tweets from his account.

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Will Conor McGregor’s UFC Return Be Announced This Friday?

What will the UFC’s “special” presser this Friday reveal?

The post Will Conor McGregor’s UFC Return Be Announced This Friday? appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

The UFC will reveal the upcoming schedule for the rest of this year at a press event from Los Angeles this week.

Earlier today (Wed., August 1, 2018) the promotion announced a “special” press conference featuring “more than a dozen” fighters from upcoming cards in the latter half of the year. The press conference will start at 1:30 p.m. PT/4:30 p.m. ET, and will be held at The Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles, California, the site of the UFC 227 ceremonial weigh-ins, which will follow the press event.

The UFC is calling the conference its “25th anniversary seasonal press conference,” and while no fighters have been named as officially attending, welterweight champion Tyron Woodley and his upcoming opponent Darren Till will be in attendance according to MMA Fighting. Fans can obtain tickets for free starting tomorrow morning through TicketMaster.

Of course, the biggest speculation is that the headliners for October’s UFC 229 and November’s UFC 230, both expected to be major pay-per-views from Las Vegas and New York, respectively, will be announced at the presser, with Conor McGregor’s oft-discussed return against Khabib Nurmagomedov potentially happening at one of the events. With “The Notorious’” legal issues in the past after his recent plea deal for his Brooklyn assault, his path to return has never seemed more realistic.

Nothing has been confirmed, of course, but if the UFC wants McGregor to save their 2018 while there’s still time, it would make sense to announce his feverishly-anticipated comeback as soon as they can.

Stay tuned.

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Cody Garbrandt Reveals Why He Didn’t Pull Out Of UFC 217

For some fighters, money isn’t the only motivating factor to strive for success in the world of mixed martial arts (MMA). But the lifestyle isn’t cheap. Paying for training camp, mortgages and – for some fighters – children all …

For some fighters, money isn’t the only motivating factor to strive for success in the world of mixed martial arts (MMA). But the lifestyle isn’t cheap. Paying for training camp, mortgages and – for some fighters – children all add up. Cody Garbrandt experienced this first-hand in the lead-up to UFC 217. “No Love’ defended […]

The post Cody Garbrandt Reveals Why He Didn’t Pull Out Of UFC 217 appeared first on MMA News.