Cody Garbrandt: ‘I went through 1,200 days of pain, and I would go through it again’

Exclusive interview: The former bantamweight champion has moved on from his losing streak and is ready to tackle a new division, starting at UFC 269

When Cody Garbrandt produced one of the greatest title-fight performances in UFC history, outpointing arguably the best bantamweight of all time with ease, no one could have foreseen what would follow.

It was 30 December 2016, Garbrandt was 25, and he had just danced around Dominick Cruz (literally) to extend his win streak to 11-0, his blistering boxing proving too much for yet another opponent. As UFC president Dana White wrapped the bantamweight belt around Garbrandt’s waist, many fans predicted that the new champion would go on to dominate the division for years to come.

Instead, the American dropped the title 11 months later, knocked out in the second round by teammate-turned-rival TJ Dillashaw in Madison Square Garden. Garbrandt would wait nine months for an instant rematch with his compatriot, only to suffer the same result – this time in the first round.

By March 2019, the Ohio native’s mesmeric title win had become a distant memory, as he was knocked out for the third fight in a row. This time it was Pedro Munhoz who handed Garbrandt a first-round KO, a fighter who – like Dillashaw – has seen their career tainted by testing positive for performance-enhancing substances.

Finally, in July 2020, Garbrandt reached his moment of reprieve. When “No Love” stopped Raphael Assuncao with a buzzer-beating KO – perhaps the most impressive finish of the year – he ended a seemingly eternal wait for a win.

“How long was it?” he asks softly, as we speak over Zoom. “About 1,200 days,” comes my reluctant response.

“One thousand, two hundred,” Garbrandt echoes, staring into space.

He stares silently for a while, as if reliving those three-and-a-half years for a few moments.

Garbrandt reacts after losing to rival TJ Dillashaw for a second time in August 2018 (Getty)

“One thousand, two hundred days of...”

Another long pause.

“A lot of pain,” he finally says. “A lot of soul-searching. There was a lot of good that came out of it, too, a lot of things that I had to change. And my son was brought into the world. I had some injuries that sidelined me for a while, so I got to spend time with him. Timing is everything. I was able to be there for the early months of his life, I learned a lot about being a father.

“I wouldn’t change anything. I would go through it all again.”

An almost incomprehensible reserve of resilience was required for Garbrandt to come out of that adverse period of his career, a trait he learned in large part from his friendship with young cancer survivor Maddux Maple.

In Garbrandt’s 2018 autobiography The Pact, he details a promise he made to Maple, who was diagnosed with leukaemia when he was just five years old. Garbrandt, still just a teenager when he met Maple, promised his fellow Ohioan that he would make it to the UFC and bring his young friend with him. In turn, Maple promised to fight his cancer until it was eradicated.

Both fulfilled their promises.

“In the period of my life that I met Maddux, I was running around and doing things that I shouldn’t have been doing,” admits Garbrandt, now 30.

“I was 18, 19, doing dumb s*** – going to bars, drinking, just being reckless. He came into my life and brought a lot of different emotions.

“While I was watching him battle for his life, I was kind of p*****g mine away. It was definitely a huge motivating factor that we both had with each other, to never give up. He can’t give up, because if he gives up, he dies. I was basically fighting to save my life, he was fighting to save his. We did it together.

“It’s funny that you bring it up, too, because I was speaking to my mum two days ago and she was tripping out that he has his driver’s permit. He’s 15, so he can drive with a parent. It’s just great to see him flourishing in life.

“It’s crazy, the battles that we endured and overcame, being resilient. He definitely changed my life and gave me a lot of perspective. I’m very grateful for the battles we went through together, and the ones we continue to go through.”

Garbrandt (12-4) hopes his next battle will be towards the UFC flyweight title, with his first fight at 125lbs taking place on Saturday at UFC 269. Kai Kara-France (22-9, 1 no contest) will be standing across the Octagon.

Garbrandt finally committed to dropping down to a new division in May, after being outpointed by Rob Font. “No Love” originally intended to move to flyweight last year, but a serious bout of Covid-19 derailed his planned title fight against the then champion Deiveson Figueiredo.

Garbrandt dancing during his decision win over Dominick Cruz in 2016 (Getty)

“Like I said, everything’s about timing,” Garbrandt reiterates. “I had the title shot where I was supposed to fight Figueiredo, obviously Covid took that away... but that allowed me to really, really gameplan for this weight-cut and how to tackle it properly.

“It’s been on my mind for years, going down in weight. I don’t get too big if I’m cutting to 135lb and reloading; I noticed after my last fight that I was like 142lb with my clothes on. These bantamweights are getting bigger and bigger, and my recharge or reload... I probably wasn’t doing it correctly.

“I just feel good here at 125lb. I love what it’s made me do: just complete focus, no cutting corners.

“How many people in this life, in this world, get to become a world champion? Even smaller is the number that get to be a two-weight world champion.

“I became champion before, I did it with ease. I know this time around it will be a lot harder.”

Perhaps the days of getting it done easily are behind Garbrandt, or perhaps his clash with Kara-France will mark the rebirth of one of MMA’s best boxers. Maybe it will even mark the start of another stunning surge to UFC gold.