After COVID and bantamweight opportunities delayed his weight drop, Cody Garbrandt feels “inspired” thinking about his flyweight future.
LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Cody Gabrandt[/autotag] is on his way to shedding 10 more pounds than usual for his upcoming fight at UFC 269, but the former bantamweight champion has nothing but glowing things to say about the experience.
Ahead of his divisional debut against Kai Kara-France on Saturday at T-Mobile Arena, Garbrandt (12-4 MMA, 7-4 UFC) praised his training camp – and beyond. As he explained, the move to flyweight was longer than the eight weeks he’s known about his UFC 269 bout. It’s been a lengthy process that’s taken the better portion of a year.
“Woo, flyweight,” Garbrandt told MMA Junkie on Wednesday at media day. “That sh*t hits different. … We’d been going back and forth on it. It’s been on my mind. I’m a doer. When I say I’m going to do something, I’m going to do it. We were slated to fight (Deiveson) Figuereido over a year ago. Obviously I caught COVID pretty bad. But I truly believe everything is on timing. It allotted me the time to do this correctly, find Dr. Matteo (Capodaglio), Capo Nutrition.
“This has been not an overnight, eight-week camp thing cutting down. I reached out to him, (and) we’ve been working for close to seven months now, getting the weight down. It’s one of the best things I’ve done. I actually texted Dana a couple weeks ago and I was like, ‘I wish I would’ve done this a while ago.’ I love what this has made me do.”
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Garbrandt’s first task is to make weight Friday morning. Then he’ll have a ranked opponent in Kara-France (22-9 MMA, 5-2 UFC) to take on less than 36 hours later. While he’s yet to officially test the waters in competition, Garbrandt expects fighting lighter will give him some advantages he didn’t have at bantamweight.
“I feel like this is probably my more natural weight,” Garbrandt said. “I feel like a lot of the bantamweights are much larger. I feel like in skillset, speed, power, I still have that at the division, obviously. That’s given in my career. But I’d say it’s the recharge, the recharge from cutting down to 135 and having to reload. If a fighter is only gaining 10 pounds, and your opponent is gaining 20 pounds, well, they’re taking 10 more pounds inside that octagon. It can make a huge difference, especially in a five-round fight and things like that.”
Overall, Garbrandt called the lead-up to Saturday’s scrap “inspiring.” He’s found out a lot about himself in recent weeks and predicts the best version of himself will be seen at 125 pounds.
“I’m a professional,” Garbrandt said. “I stay ready. That’s the best thing: Stay ready, so you don’t have to get ready. Even in a new division, it’s made me do things that I’ve not had to do in the past, the extra road work. … It’s just inspiring. That’s the word of the week. I’m inspired for what is about to go down Saturday night.”
UFC 269 takes place Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The main card streams on ESPN+ pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and early prelims on ESPN+.
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