Cody Garbrandt admits flyweight moves ‘scares’ him but expects to make a ‘statement’ against Kai Kara-France

Cody Garbrandt says all the unanswered questions around his flyweight move are scaring him but also motivating him.

Garbrandt is the former UFC bantamweight champion but has struggled as of late and decided to drop down to flyweight. He will make his flyweight debut at UFC 269 on December 11 against Kai Kara-France and Garbrandt says he’s ready to make a statement.

“We’re getting that mental fortitude to push and (I’m) ready to put on a pace and go in there and put a statement on this division that this is a pawn that was brought in,” Garbrandt said on his “Rollin with the Homies” podcast (via MMAJunkie).

Cody Garbrandt is coming off a decision loss to Rob Font and he knows this fight is crucial for his career. He says he has a lot of the same unanswered questions going into this fight as he did going into the Dominick Cruz title fight, which of course, he dominated to win the belt.

Ultimately, Garbrandt is just excited to get back in there and knows when he makes weight it will be a big sigh of relief.

“I’ve got to make a statement, and I’m known to,” Garbrandt said. “This is a huge fight for me, (a) huge opportunity for my career. I’m as scared of this as any fight because I’ve never made 125. I’ve never fought here. There’s a lot of unanswered questions. Just like going into the Dominick Cruz fight – yeah, I could go in there and knock him out. But could I go five rounds? Could I do this? Could I do that?

“There’s so many unanswered questions that it scares me and motivates me in the sense of doing the extra. Not that I haven’t in the past, but it’s more,” Garbrandt continued. “You have to add more onto it, then figure it out. So I think that this will be a great weight for me. My energy levels feel good. I’ve been on a diet for about two months now, so I’ve already shaved off five to seven pounds, give or take. I’m feeling good.”

Do you think Cody Garbrandt will beat Kai Kara-France?