Jake’s Take: Is this the end for Cody Garbrandt?

Former UFC bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt has fallen on hard times, to put it lightly. Having dropped 5 of his last 6, it looks like the glory days for Gabrandt’s career are far behind him. Today, I’m going to look at what could be next for the former 135lb champ.

This is my two cents – this is Jake’s Takes!

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In 2016, Cody Garbrandt was the talk of the town at bantamweight. The promising Californian prospect shot up the rankings rapidly, showing repsectable speed and power. By the year’s end, Garbrandt squared off with then-champion Dominick Cruz. To the shock of almost everyone, the young Garbrandt used superior footwork and agility to shut Cruz down, claiming the win by unanimous decision.

A grudge match with former champion & teammate-turned-rival TJ Dillashaw was on the cards for 2017. This, however, is where it all began to fall down for Garbrandt.

After early success, Gabrandt was knocked out by Dillashaw in the second round. Having lost his title and suffering his first pro loss, Garbrandt was determined to get back on track and get revenge. In their 2018 rematch, Dillashaw once again finished an over-eager Garbrandt. The emphatic losses showed that Cody wasn’t going to be in the title discussion for a while, so a supposed step down in competition was set up.

In March of the next year, Garbrandt faced top ten contender Pedro Munhoz. Though he once again had success early on, Cody became reckless and was KO’d for the third time in three fights. This fight was the nail in the coffin for analysts who believed that Garbrandt’s downfall was not in his skills, but his tendency to fight emotionally.

Impressive in his 2020 return, the former champ scored a buzzer-beater KO over Raphael Assuncao. Many saw this as the return of the ‘calm Cody’, ready to make a clear-headed run at the title. He was briefly linked to a title fight at 125lbs against Deiveson Figueiredo, but the bout was cancelled after Garbrandt contracted COVID-19.

Garbrandt’s 2021 start saw him get beat down by Rob Font over five rounds. This led him to the decision of dropping down to 125lbs, looking for a fresh start. In his flyweight debut, Garbrandt was once again stopped, with Kai Kara-France sleeping him inside a round. This left Cody in the position he’s in right now.

So, what’s next for Garbrandt?

For starters, I think dropping down to flyweight was a huge mistake. An extra 10lbs to cut is not going to help someone who has garnerned a reputation for having a weak chin. Especially after seeing how Kara-France brutalised him, personally, a move back to 135lbs is no-brainer for me. This doesn’t mean thrusting him back into the title picture, however. The promotion may be tempted to give him a big fight, given his popularity, but it wouldn’t be the right decision.

Despite the losses, Garbrandt hasn’t been awful in his recent outings. He had success against TJ Dillashaw and Pedro Munhoz, beat Raphael Assuncao & showed good wrestling against Rob Font. The outlier in those opponents, of course, is Assuncao, who is in the twilight of his career. Throwing Garbrandt back into a top-ten fight would be ridicilous, in my opinion. It’s time to give him someone lower ranked who’s a more favourable matchup.

A fighter like Frankie Edgar – a veteran seemingly near the end – would be ideal for Garbrandt’s return. It would be the ideal test to see if Cody can still hang with any of the best at 135lbs. If he were to beat Edgar, he could slowly begin to climb the rankings again. If he were to lose – especially if he got finished – I think it would show that it was time to hang up the gloves.

Whether you’re a fan or not, you have to acknowledge that this is truly a make-or-break time for Garbrandt. Should he decide to step back into the Octagon, the tensions will be high for ‘No Love‘.