There was a moment following his brutal first round loss to Adrian Yanez at UFC 329 where it looked like Cody Garbrandt might retire. That’s not the case, according to a new statement from the former bantamweight champion.
Garbrandt reached the top of the mountain in 2016, taking the 135 pound belt off Dominick Cruz in a masterclass of a performance. He lost the strap in his first defense against T.J. Dillashaw and never managed to regain his footing. Series health issues caused by COVID impacted
him greatly, and he’s gone 3-5 over the past five years. That includes this latest knockout defeat to Yanez in just two minutes and 47 seconds.
Garbrandt had his gloves off in the cage and it seemed like a retirement speech might be forthcoming. But whether it was for time (broadcast pacing waits for no man) or a change of mind, he never said the magic words. Now “No Love” has released a statement strongly suggesting that he will continue to fight.
“There are moments in life when hope fades, and the weight of endless problems makes the path unclear,” Garbrandt wrote in all caps on Instagram. “But remember this — you only lose when you choose to give up. Let your struggles be your fuel, not your downfall. Don’t let the storm break you; let it strengthen your will to rise and keep fighting.”
UFC CEO Dana White once pegged Cody Garbrandt to be the American Conor McGregor. The talent, the look, and the attitude all had him convinced. But the fight game is merciless and it turned out that it was T.J. Dillashaw’s time to rule bantamweight, not Garbrandt. These days Cody is trapped in the role of gatekeeper, still dangerous but unable to take the big shots from killers in the division. And there are a lot of killers in the division.
This was Garbrandt’s first TKO loss since 2021. Let’s hope we don’t see him take too much damage in his next fight.
