Cody Garbrandt rejects potential Dominick Cruz rematch: “What else am I supposed to do with the guy?”
Former UFC champion Cody Garbrandt isn’t very interested in facing Dominick Cruz again.
‘No Love’ is fresh off his return earlier this month at UFC 296. Facing off against Brian Kelleher, the former champion scored a first-round knockout victory. The win was Cody Garbrandt’s second in a row, helping him get back on track after a failed flyweight move in late 2021.
Following the win earlier this month, some speculated that a rematch with Dominick Cruz could be in order. For his part, ‘The Dominator’ has been out of action since a knockout loss to Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera last year. That defeat snapped a two-fight winning streak for the former champion.
In the event that Cody Garbrandt vs. Dominick Cruz is booked, it will be a rematch of their 2016 classic. At UFC 207, ‘No Love’ dominated the future Hall-of-Famer to win bantamweight gold, winning by a lopsided unanimous decision. While a rematch would be exciting, fans shouldn’t get their hopes up.
Cody Garbrandt was asked about the bout during a recent interview with ESPN. There, the former UFC bantamweight champion publicly rejected the potential rematch. In the interview, he questioned how he’s supposed to do better against Dominick Cruz, given the lopsided nature of their first bout.
Instead, he would prefer to fight Deiveson Figueiredo next. The former flyweight champion made his bantamweight debut earlier this month, defeating Rob Font by unanimous decision. If it’s up to Cody Garbrandt, he would get a crack at him next.
Image via: @florezmedia on Instagram
Former UFC champion Cody Garbrandt rejects potential rematch with Dominick Cruz
“That was just a fight that I was ready for. That year was amazing, I had momentum,” Cody Garbrandt stated to ESPN, reflecting on his 2016 win over Dominick Cruz. “I was healthy, hungry, and that’s where I’m at. I’m healthy and I’m hungry, I think that’s what it boils down to, healthy and hungry. But, I’m a veteran of the sport, I’m smarter in a way… I was a 25-year-old kid just trying to figure things out [back then].”
He continued, “…That fight doesn’t interest me, what else am I supposed to do to the guy? Go in there and knock him out this time? That’s the only thing that would kind of put a statement, not even a statement, but top that. But like I said, it’s so hard to top that performance, and I’ll fight anybody, it doesn’t matter. But at the end of the day, I think Deiveson Figueiredo coming to the bantamweight division, just having a win over Rob Font [makes sense].”
“I go and knock Deiveson out, I’m right back in title contention. That’s what I’m here to do. I’ve never wanted to be a runner-up in this sport, I always want to be at the top.”
What do you make of these comments from former UFC bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt? Would you rather see ‘No Love’ fight Dominick Cruz or Deiveson Figueiredo?
Topics:
Cody Garbrandt Dominick Cruz UFC
