Cody Garbrandt Returns After One-Year Layoff
The former Bantamweight Champion Cody Garbrandt returns to action for the first time in over a year, on June 14th at UFC Atlanta against Raoni Barcelos. ‘No Love’ was on a two-fight winning streak and looking to be once again climbing the rankings before he ran into a brick wall in Deiveson Figueiredo at UFC 300. He was submitted by the ‘God of War’, and many people thought that could have been the last time we saw Cody fight in the UFC. Can Cody return to the electric hard-hitting striker we all remember, or will he be too slow to stop Barcelos' relentless grappling and pressure?
Cody Garbrandt, in his prime, had one of the fastest hands and the quickest reaction times defensively. This allowed him to have an 11-0 start to his career and become the Bantamweight Champion after a masterclass performance against Dominick Cruz. After that win, he went on to lose three straight fights by knockout and has been at a crossroads ever since. He has shown flashes at times of being an elusive and power-hitting 135er that made him highly regarded by everyone. This upcoming fight is a good benchmark to see if Garbrandt can still hang with the end of the rankings before eventually making another push toward the gold.
Raoni Barcelos is not an easy opponent to return to and will test how competitive Cody can be in the Bantamweight Division. In his last fight, he defeated 9-0 prospect Payton Talbott in a dominant upset at UFC 311 and has only lost to the elite fighters of the Bantamweight Division, including Umar Nurmagomedov and Kyler Phillips. If Cody can keep this fight on their feet, he will be able to pick apart Barcelos and eventually look for a finish. Barcelos is relentless in looking to get the fight to the ground, so if Garbrandt can’t stop the takedowns, he is in for a long night. His wrestling is a lot better than people normally think; his only problem is his weak chin at this latter stage of his career. I think he will be able to win most of the grappling exchanges, and in space, there are few better and crisper strikers than ‘No Love’. With the high possibility that Merab Dvalishvili retains his Bantamweight Championship at UFC 316, he will be looking for new and exciting matchups and could open the opportunity for Cody to slowly creep his way forward against ‘The Machine’.
June 14th is an action-packed fight card with three former champions on the marquee. With fighters like Kamaru Usman and Rose Namajunas looking to show why they should still be at the top of their respective divisions. While newcomers Joaquin Buckley and Miranda Maverick are looking to make a name for themselves at the expense of the former champs. You don’t want to miss all the action from start to finish.
