A former champion had high expectations of Cody Garbrandt before losing back-to-back losing at UFC Atlanta.
As soon as the UFC Bantamweight Champion of the World, the career of Cody Garbrandt never looked the same after having bias about the great Dominick Cruz of all time in a masterful version in 2016.
Garbrandt is 3-7 in his last 10 fights and loses some of the best hunters in the world, including TJ Dillashaw (twice), Rob Font, Kai Kara-France, Defeiveson Figueiredo and more.
Just like former Champs Kamaru Usman and Rose Namajunas, 'No Love' tried to return to the win column at UFC Atlanta, but it didn't help. After three rounds, Garbrandt lost a unanimous decision to Raoni Barcelos, where many call his MMA pension.
Just before his fight with Barcelos, it was thought that the Niet -Garbrandt was one of the most difficult tests of champion Merab Dvalishvili stylistic.
Photo by Cooper Neill/Zuffa LLC
TJ Dillashaw said that Cody Garbrandt would “stand his ground” to Merab Dvalishvili
On a 13-Fight win-streak, DvalishHvili is known for its ruthless wrestling game and his insane cardio that supports it.
As far as Garbrandt is concerned, the former champion is known for its speed, footwork and massive ko threat.
TJ Dillashaw, a former teammate and rival of Garbrandt, said that Garbrandt also has an incredible removal, which prevailed in his fight against Barcelos.
Garbrandt defended 10 of the 11 Takedown attempts by the Brazilian and has a removal rate of 83%.
“I hope Garbrandt can make a run back because I think Garbrandt would really be a heavy matchup for Merab,” said Dillashaw on the Jaxxon -Podcast days for UFC Atlanta.
“He packs – Punch,” said Dillashaw about Garbrandt, who dropped him during their title fight 2017.
“He will stand his ground. He is hard to bring down. He is difficult to hold.
“If Garbrandt can get another run under itself, I think that would be a great fight to see eventually,” Dillashaw said about Dvalishvili vs. Garbrandt.
Together with Garbrandt, Dillashaw Aljamain Sterling and Umar Nurmagomedov mentioned as potential title threats for Merab Dvalishvili.
Last man who beat Merab Dvalishvili, talks potential rematch
Dvalishvili has not lost in the UFC since he was defeated by Ricky Simon in April 2018.
Simon is no longer in the Top-15 ranking list after a loss for Vinicius Oliveira last summer on UFC 303, but the UFC veteran has the back-to-back victories over UFC Atlanta.
Simon followed his first round knockout of Javid Basharat in February with a decision victory at Cameron Smotherman on Saturday.
During the press conference after the fight, Simon was asked for a possible rematch with Dvalishvili.
“It's great to see Merab's success and how comfortable he is like a champion and as dominant as he has been,” said Simon van de Kampioen
“This gives me confidence in the world alone.
“The UFC wanted to make that rematch before he even fought for the title,” Simon revealed.
“I think I was arranged when I was top 10, and he was four or five or something. But I don't blame him because it was not logical to fight back.
“That would be sick,” Simon said about a potential rematch with Dvalishvili.
“That would be great, such as a kind of complete circle.