Cody Garbrandt was on the wrong end of a decision for the first time in his career. Rob Font was able to jab his way to victory at UFC Vegas 27, setting up a huge fight for him next. ‘No Love’ fell to 1-4 in his last five having previously captured the bantamweight title back in 2016. He for sure needs to drop back to three rounds and a drop-down in competition.
At a crossroads in his career, we take a look at who and what could be next for #4 ranked Cody Garbrandt.
Cody Garbrandt vs…
Jimmie Rivera
#12 Jimmie Rivera is in a similar position to Cody Garbrandt. Once a top contender, Rivera has fallen on hard times as of late. Falling to 2-4 in his last six, Rivera vs. Garbrandt seems like it certainly should have happened previously, however, it never has. With both men struggling to string two wins together, this could be a winner take all fight.
Both men also have solid stand-up, decent wrestling and are experienced within the UFC and have to put it all on the line in their next bout.
Sean O’Malley
‘Sugar’, Sean O’Malley and Cody Garbrandt have regularly gone back and forth on Twitter and teased a fight. The two men’s personalities certainly clash and the fight build-up would, without doubt, be entertaining. The striking of Rob Font was too much for ‘No Love’ and O’Malley may piece him up in a similar fashion. We haven’t seen O’Malley tested often on the ground and Garbrandt could be the one to do this.
Don’t worry kid I’ll be running both divisions by 2021 hopefully by that time you’ll fight someone in the top 15…. https://t.co/SBD9f4WoKv
— Cody Garbrandt (@Cody_Nolove) August 1, 2020
O’Malley definitely needs a step up in competition and Cody Garbrandt could be that step up. Garbrandt needs a drop-down in competition and with O’Malley unproven at the highest level, the fight makes a lot of sense. If O’Malley wins his next bout scheduled at UFC 264, he needs to call out Cody Garbrandt.
Anyone at Flyweight?
We know that Cody Garbrandt was scheduled to compete for the flyweight title back at UFC 255. He isn’t the biggest of bantamweights and doesn’t cut a lot of weight to get down to 135lbs. The understanding was that he would make 125lbs and compete for the flyweight strap. Having competed at bantamweight in his most recent bout, the talks of him dropping down to flyweight have gone cold. However, as he hasn’t had much success as of late at 135lbs, a drop down to flyweight may be the way to go.
There are plenty of fun fights for the former champion at 125lbs. With names such as Kai Kara France and Tim Elliott in the top 10, these would make for exciting fights. Garbrandt’s speed would likely carry down to flyweight and it would be interesting to see how much power he would have down at the weight.
Whatever Cody Garbrandt decides to do next, you can be sure that the UFC will continue to push him. At just 29, he is still in his prime and still has a lot to give. We’ll cover whatever is next for ‘No Love’.
