On the heels of his dominant performance over former UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz, Cody “No Love” Garbrandt is currently sitting pretty at the top of the heap right now as one of the UFC’s hottest properties. Garbrandt took Cruz apart over five rounds in UFC 207’s co-main event to take the title.
The undefeated 25-year-old from Ohio realized a long-time dream of becoming UFC champion and defeating Cruz. Although the two traded verbal barbs all month long leading up to the bout, they maintained class after it. Garbrandt surprised many as he was able to completely shut down Cruz with his power and movement.
Cody Garbrandt Defeated Dominick Cruz To Become The New UFC Bantamweight Champion
Cruz, one of the most elusive strikers in MMA, was a man who was very hard to hit. But Garbrandt made staggering him and dropping him to the canvas look very easy en route to a unanimous decision victory.
Obnoxiously absent was Cruz’s ability to slip and evade attacks, which was the big question facing Garbrandt at the beginning of the bout. Garbrandt for sure possessed the power necessary to be successful. But many observers did not believe he could land anything significant against the former champion.
“No Love” proved doubters wrong with a masterful boxing performance, even outshining Cruz on the defensive front.
Most fans believe former bantamweight titleholder TJ Dillashaw is next in line for a shot at the UFC strap. But Garbrandt has other plans.
Garbrandt was a guest on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani recently and made his plans known.
Garbrandt Is Looking For Some Big Money Superfights
“I need to sit down with Dana [White] and Sean [Shelby], and find out the biggest money fight for me. I know I could go up and fight with Jose Aldo. He has wins over my teammates, he’s a legend, and I’d like to test his chin,” said Garbrandt.
“I know I hit hard, and I’m just getting started. And 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.”
Garbrandt appears to be eyeing a bout with two of the biggest stars north of his division. And he doesn’t seem to have any problems leaving bantamweight behind. Garbrandt has made it very clear he wouldn’t mind fighting anyone, in any weight class.
““He (Conor) 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,” added Garbrandt.
How Well Could He Do Against Conor McGregor Or Jose Aldo?
“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.”
Garbrandt is riding a wave of confidence and momentum right now only brought about by a big win. And you can’t blame him. The demolition job he did on Dominick Cruz when Cruz claimed he was just a one-dimensional fighter is the most amazing thing that happened at UFC 207 aside from the main event shocker.
