UFC Bantamweight fighter Cody Garbrandt has shown no interest in a rematch with Dominick Cruz. The Ohio-born fighter wants to fight the current champion Sean O’Malley in a “money fight”.
Garbrandt held a 10-0 professional MMA record when he first faced Cruz at UFC 207 for the Bantamweight title. ‘No Love’ won via a unanimous decision after five five-minute rounds. However, the decision victory does not showcase his dominance in the performance. During the fight, Garbrandt was dancing around Cruz at several points.
30 December 2016
UFC 207
Cody Garbrandt defeats Cruz via UD pic.twitter.com/bhEv2N3Lbi
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With his undefeated record and outstanding title-winning performance, many believed he was going to have a long title run. However, in his first defense, he lost the title to T.J. Dillashaw at UFC 217. Garbrandt lost the rematch as well, further tainting his record.
Following those losses, Garbrandt suffered three more losses (one at Featherweight) and earned three wins. His latest fight was against Brian Kelleher at UFC 296. The 32-year-old convincingly won that bout via first-round KO.
In a recent interview with ESPN, Garbrandt claimed that his problem with a rematch is that he cannot top his previous performance without a KO. “Honestly, that fight doesn’t interest me,” Garbrandt said about a rematch with Cruz. “What else am I supposed to do with the guy? Go in and knock him out this time? That’s the only thing that would kind of put a statement or top that. It’s so hard to top that performance.”
Garbrandt is eyeing gold in the Bantamweight division as he hopes to defeat Deiveson Figueiredo which would put him in title contention. The former Bantamweight champion, however, claimed that he is ready to fight anyone.
Cody Garbrandt eyes a fight against Sean O’Malley to settle their beef
Garbrandt and O’Malley have been rivals for a long time as strong contenders in the Bantamweight division. The fighters did not face each other at UFC 269, however, that did not stop them from facing off at the event’s pre-fight press conference. Since that encounter fans have hoped to see them meet inside the Octagon.
Garbrandt would love to fight ‘Suga’ for the title. He said, “If Sean’s still the champion when it’s my time to punch that ticket again, I would absolutely love that.
“And if he’s not, then I’ve got to work my way to Sean if he loses… I think a crash course with Sean is definitely in the near future. A money fight, that’s what this is all about. What is going to bring the most eyes to these fights? Sean and I have history, I would love to just go smack him around.”
O’Malley has an extraordinary record (17-1) under his belt. He has lost only one fight in his professional career. The current UFC Bantamweight champion will defend his title against Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera at UFC 299. Vera is the only fighter who got the better of O’Malley. The rematch between the fighters has got fans excited.