Cody Garbrandt said the vertigo he experienced was so bad that he was at the hospital after UFC 300 until 4 a.m.
[autotag]Cody Garbrandt[/autotag] says he was dealing with vertigo during his UFC 300 fight against [autotag]Deiveson Figueiredo[/autotag].
After looking fluid on the feet during the striking exchanges, Garbrandt (14-6 MMA, 9-6 UFC) was submitted by Figueiredo (23-3-1 MMA, 12-3-1 UFC) in Round 2 of their bantamweight bout Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Garbrandt explained that things were going well until he started feeling dizzy, something he’s been dealing with for years.
“I felt great in my fight until I started to experience vertigo,” the former UFC bantamweight champion wrote in a message posted on X. “I couldn’t control the spinning once it was to the ground. Hats off to Deiveson and his camp! I ended up going to the hospital where I was still experiencing the vertigo, throwing up until 4 a.m. ,,, I’ll get this corrected. I’ve dealt with vertigo since 2012. Thank you to the fans that came out to support. It wasn’t my night, but I love doing what I do. I’ll be back in there before the year is up.”
Garbrandt had his two-fight winning streak snapped after beating Trevin Jones and knocking out Brian Kelleher. Garbrandt is 3-6 since his spectacular title win over Dominick Cruz in 2016.
[lawrence-related id=2733218,2734182,2732465]
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 300.
Deiveson Figueiredo thinks he’s done enough to earn a title shot.
LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Deiveson Figueiredo[/autotag] thinks he’s done enough to earn a title shot.
Figueiredo (23-3-1 MMA, 12-3-1 UFC) picked up his second win at bantamweight when he submitted former champion Cody Garbrandt (14-6 MMA, 9-6 UFC) Saturday at UFC 300.
The former flyweight champ says to expect even more from him in his new weight class.
“This was an incredible night,” Figueiredo told MMA Junkie and other reporters through an interpreter at the UFC 300 post-fight press conference. “I came off a victory over a very (big) name guy, Cody Garbrandt, very tough guy. This just shows what the new chapter in my career’s going to be.”
Petr Yan was suggested as a potential next opponent for Figueiredo, but he dismissed that idea. The Brazilian only has his sights set on gold, despite now being in a stacked division.
“I’m a former champion in the other division. I’m coming up and winning in this division, and I want to fight for the championship,” Figueiredo said. “The (flyweight title) fight against (Brandon) Moreno, there was a mistake in my view, so I think I deserve to fight for the championship next.”
Figueiredo is ready to jump in for any opportunity. Bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley is expected to face Merab Dvalishvili next, and Figueiredo is happy to face either next.
“I’m 100 percent. I’m ready to fight again, be it Sean O’Malley, be it Merab – whoever it is,” Figueiredo said. “Whatever Dana decides, I’m going to be in.”
[lawrence-related id=2733218,2732465,2732489]
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 300.
What Cody Garbrandt credits for reviving his career is exactly what he sees Deiveson Figueiredo lacking ahead of UFC 300.
LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Cody Garbrandt[/autotag] admits he’s been there, which is why his internal gauge is telling him [autotag]Deiveson Figueiredo[/autotag] might be physically unprepared for Saturday’s historic UFC 300 card at T-Mobile Arena.
The two former champions were booked to fight for the flyweight title during Figueiredo’s reign in 2020. However, Garbrandt (14-5 MMA, 9-5 UFC) withdrew and the bout never materialized again – until now.
Garbrandt called for the rebooking after his UFC 296 knockout of Brian Kelleher in December and the promotion quickly obliged. The lead-up has included some trash talk, which led Gabrandt to think Figueiredo (22-3-1 MMA, 11-3-1 UFC) might be acting out of desperation.
“I’ve been there,” Gabrandt told MMA Junkie and other reporters Wednesday at a pre-fight news conference. “Maybe he lacks a lot of confidence. Maybe he didn’t prepare like he needed to, so he’s trying to get into the head game. Maybe that’s his out. ‘If I can get in Cody’s head, I’m going to win this fight.’ If that’s what he’s going off of to be victorious on Saturday, he’s going to have a long night ahead of him.”
[lawrence-related id=2731834,2731837]
Garbrandt’s fall from championship grace was initially a hard one. After an 11-0 run as a pro that led him to a UFC title win over Dominick Cruz, Garbrandt lost five of six, including four knockout defeats.
Since the start of 2023, however, Garbrandt has won back-to-back fights. He credits his reinvention to mental strides from work with a therapist.
“It’s something that I never thought I needed to do,” Garbrandt said. “Some of my hardest sessions were going in there with him, over the training, over the sparring, over the constant grind. It was always driving to those sessions knowing that I had to open up about my thoughts, my feelings, and I’ve never been one to express those. He’s helped out a lot, tremendously, not just in my athletic career performance-wise, but life as well. Being able to balance all that together and stay engaged in the moments and the times, I feel like that’s a huge thing that I’ve worked (on) that’s different. Nothing is different in my speed, my power, my vision. It’s my mental fortitude that’s what’s keeping me here and keeping me motivated and understanding this is what I love to do.”
Garbrandt and Figueiredo will kick off an ultra-stacked card as the first fight of the night. Garbrandt is flattered by the bout card positioning and the opportunity to fight on one of the promotion’s most historic cards.
“We’re making history,” Garbrandt said. “There’s never been a matchup in the UFC that’s two former world champions kicking off a card. I’m grateful for the spotlight, grateful for the opener of the amazing card with such amazing athletes. Also, (I’m grateful) to draw people in early. They don’t want to miss this fight.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 300.
On this week’s episode of “Spinning Back Clique,” the panel discusses everything UFC 300.
Check out this week’s special edition of “Spinning Back Clique,” where we’ll be breaking down everything UFC 300.
This week’s panel will be composed of Brian “Goze” Garcia, Danny Segura, and host “Gorgeous” George Garcia – along with appearances from Matt Wells, Mike Bohn, Farah Hannoun, Dan Tom, and Nolan King.
For this Monday’s special episode, the panel discussed:
The pair of undisputed UFC championship fights headlining UFC 300. In the main event, [autotag]Alex Pereira[/autotag] makes his first light heavyweight title defense against former champion [autotag]Jamahal Hill[/autotag], who returns from injury. In the co-main event, [autotag]Zhang Weili[/autotag] takes on fellow Chinese fighter [autotag]Yan Xiaonan[/autotag] in a women’s strawweight bout.
The first-ever Baddest Motherf*cker title defense, as BMF champion [autotag]Justin Gaethje[/autotag] welcomes back [autotag]Max Holloway[/autotag] to the lightweight division. Other key lightweight bouts go down, including [autotag]Charles Oliveira[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Arman Tsarukyan[/autotag], [autotag]Jalin Turner[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Renato Moicano[/autotag], [autotag]Jim Miller[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Bobby Green[/autotag].
Highly-touted undefeated middleweight prospect [autotag]Bo Nickal[/autotag]’s return to action. He takes on Cody Brundage in the opening bout of the pay-per-view main card. This will be Nickal’s third fight under the UFC banner.
Two-time PFL champion and two-time Judo Olympic gold medalist [autotag]Kayla Harrison[/autotag] makes her highly awaited UFC debut. She takes on former champion [autotag]Holly Holm[/autotag] at bantamweight – a division Harrison will be debuting in. Harrison has previously fought at 155 and 145 pounds.
Former UFC bantamweight champion [autotag]Aljamain Sterling[/autotag] has moved up to featherweight. Veteran contender [autotag]Calvin Kattar[/autotag] welcomes him to the division.
To cap off the show, the panel will do a quick promo breakdown to hype up the four remaining bouts of the UFC 300 card. This includes [autotag]Jiri Prochazka[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Aleksandar Rakic[/autotag], [autotag]Sodiq Yusuff[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Diego Lopes[/autotag], [autotag]Jessica Andrade[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Marina Rodriguez[/autotag], and [autotag]Deiveson Figueiredo[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Cody Garbrandt[/autotag].
Cody Garbrandt isn’t the least bit flustered by Deiveson Figueiredo’s trash talk ahead of UFC 300.
[autotag]Cody Garbrandt[/autotag] isn’t the least bit flustered by [autotag]Deiveson Figueiredo[/autotag]’s trash talk ahead of UFC 300.
Former UFC bantamweight champion Garbrandt (14-5 MMA, 9-5 UFC) is set to take on former two-time flyweight kingpin Figueiredo (22-3-1 MMA, 11-3-1 UFC) in a 135-pound bout on the April 13 mega-card at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas (pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+).
The pair were originally scheduled to fight in October 2020 when Figueiredo held the 125-pound title and Garbrandt was going to move down in challenge him. “No Love” was forced to withdraw due to lingering health issues stemming from a bicep injury and COVID-19, and the matchup never came back together. Until now.
Both men are eager to be locked in the octagon finally, and Figueiredo has cranked up the pre-fight banter when he recently told MMAFighting.com that Garbrandt was “mentally weak” and would fold once a big shot lots. That’s nothing short of amusing to Garbrandt, who said he sees right through the comments.
“I’ve been there,” Garbrandt told MMA Junkie on Friday. “When you’re mentally weak, and you don’t believe yourself, and you have to speak more and talk more and try to get into your opponent’s head. I’ve been that person. I know deep down inside what that is. That’s insecurity of yourself. Having to say those things just to pump yourself up, get yourself ready. Then he thinks, too, it’s going to get in my head. He thinks the way to victory is to get into my head by doing this. Go ahead. Focus on all this, because remember, you’ve got to back up that talk, as well. You’ve got to back that up.
“He’s missed weight a few times. That’s being a p*ssy. That’s the biggest mentally weak block you can ever do. You have to make weight. You quit on yourself. You adversary isn’t even in front of you throwing strikes and taking you down and trying to put an elbow through your skull. You broke by yourself. So he has to digest that and understand he’s broke before even getting in the octagon. Maybe that’s something he has going on mentally where he has to foreshadow or put out there to try to get in my head. But I already know what it is and I’ve been focused on camp training hard, training like a mad man. I’m just hungry.”
For Garbrandt, 32, this encounter with Figueiredo, 36, is a clean slate. He said he can’t pull too much from the brief preparation he did for Figueiredo several years ago, and approach his camp intelligently.
“I was in such a different mindset in that camp and in that period of my life that I don’t really recall too much,” Garbrandt said. “It was all about focusing on me and getting back to myself coming off a huge knockout win over (Raphael) Assuncao, had momentum and then it was taken away.”
With the fight just over a week away, Garbrandt, an honorable mention in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie bantamweight rankings, is ready to put hands on No. 14-ranked Figueiredo. It’s an important fight for both men. After going on a well-documented 1-5 slump from 2017-2021, Garbrandt enters UFC 300 on a winning streak for the first time in more than seven years.
Figueiredo, meanwhile, is looking to further build his stock at bantamweight after earning a unanimous decision win over Rob Font in his divisional debut at UFC on ESPN 52 in December. The fight will serve as the opening bout on the historic UFC 300 card, and Garbrandt is highly motivated to deliver a vintage performance.
“Nothing (has) stood out to where it was like, ‘This guy is something special’ – he’s average,” Garbrandt said. “I feel like my skillsets are way higher than him across the board. The wrestling, the striking, the conditioning, the speed, for sure, and elusively. He’ll see. I’m just excited to go in there and push this pace on him and just drown him in there.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 300.
UFC champ Sean O’Malley didn’t expect Cody Garbrandt to issue Deiveson Figueiredo a challenge.
UFC bantamweight champion [autotag]Sean O’Malley[/autotag] didn’t expect [autotag]Cody Garbrandt[/autotag] to issue [autotag]Deiveson Figueiredo[/autotag] a challenge.
Former bantamweight champion Garbrandt (14-5 MMA, 9-5 UFC) got his wish when he was matched up with former flyweight champ Figueiredo (22-3-1 MMA, 11-3-1 UFC) in a 135-pound bout April 13 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. O’Malley questions “No Love’s” decision to call out the dangerous Brazilian.
“I’m so surprised Cody called for that fight,” O’Malley said on his “TimboSugarShow.” “It shows either one, he’s really dumb, or shows you two, he’s f*cking really confident and really mentally still there.”
O’Malley (17-1 MMA, 9-1 UFC) and Garbrandt have traded their fair share of barbs in the past. Garbrandt is on a winning streak for the first time since becoming bantamweight champion in 2016 after back-to-back victories over Trevin Jones and most recently Brian Kelleher by knockout at UFC 296.
“They’re both so quick and fast,” O’Malley said. “The way Figueiredo sits down on those punches. Cody said I was jealous of him the other day. I was like, ‘Holy sh*t, is that CTE?’ It’s got to be. Jealous? Pull up his Sherdog (profile). No, don’t. It’s embarrassing.”
O’Malley makes his first title defense at UFC 299 when he runs things back with Marlon Vera (21-8-1 MMA, 15-7 UFC) in the March 9 main event at Kaseya Center in Miami.
In a matchup of former UFC champions, oddsmakers clearly view one more favorably than the other.
In a matchup of former UFC champions, oddsmakers clearly view one more favorably than the other.
Former flyweight champion [autotag]Deiveson Figueiredo[/autotag] will take on former bantamweight champ [autotag]Cody Garbrandt[/autotag] in a 135-pound bout at UFC 300 on April 13 from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
According to DraftKings, Figueiredo is a sizeable betting favorite at -310, with Garbrandt returning as a -250 underdog. With these odds, a bettor would need to wager $310 on Figueiredo to win $100, whereas a $100 bet on Garbrandt would earn $250 in winnings.
Figueiredo (22-3-1 MMA, 11-3-1 UFC) recently moved up a division from his longtime home of 125 pounds following his historical four-bout series vs. Brandon Moreno, which ultimately ended without the belt in his possession. The Brazilian shined in his divisional debut in December, outworking perennial contender Rob Font over the course of three rounds to win a unanimous decision at UFC on ESPN 52.
Looking to hand Figueiredo his first setback in the new weight class is Garbrandt (14-5 MMA, 9-5 UFC), who is surging of late with back-to-back victories that brought him out of a rough patch of five losses in six fights. “No Love” specifically asked for the matchup vs. Figueiredo following his UFC 296 knockout of Brian Kelleher, and he got his wish.
There were 35 UFC fight announcements that were first reported or confirmed by MMA Junkie in the past week.
MMA fight announcements are hard to follow. With so many outlets and channels available, it’s nearly impossible to organize.
But here at MMA Junkie, we’ve got your back.
Each week, we’ll compile all the newly surfaced fights in one spot. Every Monday, expect a feature listing everything you might have missed from the UFC.
Here are the fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie or officially announced by the promotions from Jan. 8-14.
The UFC 300 lineup now features six current or former champions with the addition of Deiveson Figueiredo vs. Cody Garbrandt.
The UFC 300 lineup continues add high level talent with the addition of a matchup between two former titleholders.
Former flyweight champion [autotag]Deiveson Figueiredo[/autotag] will take on former bantamweight kingpin [autotag]Cody Garbrandt[/autotag] in a 135-pound bout on the April 13 card, which takes place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN. Both men had expressed interest in the fight after picking up recent wins, and the promotion obliged.
UFC CEO Dana White announced the fight Friday. MMA Junkie previously confirmed the matchup with people with knowledge of the booking following an initial report from AG Fight.
Figueiredo (22-3-1 MMA, 11-3-1 UFC) recently moved up a division from his longtime home at 125 pounds following his history four-bout series vs. Brandon Moreno, which ultimately ended without the belt in his possession. The Brazilian shined in his divisional debut in December, though, outworking perennial contender Rob Font over the course of three rounds to win a unanimous decision at UFC on ESPN 52.
Looking to hand Figueiredo his first setback in the new weight class is Garbrandt (14-5 MMA, 9-5 UFC), who is on something of a resurgence with back-to-back victories that brought him out of a rough patch of five losses in six fights. “No Love” specifically asked for the matchup vs. Figueiredo following his UFC 296 knockout of Brian Kelleher, and he got his wish.
The booking will mark the second time Figueiredo and Garbrandt have been matched up. Garbrandt was scheduled to challenge Figueiredo for the flyweight title in November 2020, but was forced to withdraw due to a torn bicep.
[lawrence-related id=2708280,2708279,2708019]
The latest UFC 300 lineup now includes:
Zhang Weili vs. Yan Xiaonan – for strawweight title
Charles Oliveira vs. Arman Tsarukyan
Jiri Prochazka vs. Aleksandar Rakic
Calvin Kattar vs. Aljamain Sterling
Cody Brundage vs. Bo Nickal
Deiveson Figueiredo vs. Cody Garbrandt
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 297.
Check out a full recap of 2023’s most significant footnotes and milestones from the events, the fights and individual performances.
Now that the year has come to a close, and with a major assist from UFC research analyst and live statistics producers Michael Carroll, here are some of 2023’s most significant milestones from the events, the fights and individual performances.
