Cody Garbrandt calls for tournament in bantamweight division
The UFC’s bantamweight division is one of the most stacked divisions in the promotion. So to determine who is the best, how does a tournament sound? That’s what former bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt is asking for.
“Let’s do a tournament. Let’s do a bantamweight tournament,” Garbrandt said at the UFC 250 post-fight news conference. “Let’s go to ‘Fight Island’ for a few months, go get quarantined out there, bring my coaches, and let’s go to war. Let’s get this battle, let’s get this tournament, and let’s see who the real champion is. Let’s go back to the old school days.
“I heard that they’re going to ‘Fight Island,’ and there’s only one name I want to fight, and that’s Petr Yan. Dana, I’m healthy, I’m ready, so I want this strap, this world championship back. It’s vacant for a reason, and it’s my destiny to get it back. So I’ll go through whoever they need me to go through, but it’s inevitable that is mine.”
Garbrandt (13-3) returned to the octagon in impressive fashion on Saturday night, as he knocked out Raphael Assuncao as time expired in the second round of their co-main event.
The win puts “No Love” back into the win column, as prior to Saturday’s win, he was riding a three-fight losing streak. Garbrandt was often criticized in his losses for being too aggressive and fighting frantic. Now Garbrandt said those days are behind him and that he’s back to his old ways.
“I don’t need to stand in front of these guys and put on a show and brawl,” Garbrandt said. “I can pick them apart just like that. I stayed calm, I waited for Assuncao to open up, and you know, do level changes and do what I needed to do in our game plan with my coaches to get that victory. It feels so good to just be in sync with the coaches and finally get that victory over a tough adversary.”
