Cody Garbrandt doesn’t just have a dislike for Dominick Cruz; he’s also got a problem with ‘The Dominator’s’ teammate, Jeremy Stephens.
The two got into a physical altercation earlier today at the official UFC 207 weigh-ins, but fortunately, no one was hurt.
Both men gave their side of the story to Ariel Helwani of MMA Fighting shortly after the incident, and ‘Lil’ Heathen says ‘No Love’ tried to push him.
“I was a little bit further behind, grabbing a couple bags, and I see Dominick getting into it with Cody. The UFC is then, like, OK, you can go over there. So of course, I’m following behind, kinda seeing them get into an altercation. Dom kinda turns around, he’s talking crap and Cody walks away. As I’m doing that, the UFC guys tell me I have to go through a certain door. So I turn my back and I take a couple steps and then I hear someone say, ‘Yeah, you better keep walking. You and your whole team blah blah blah.’ I look over, and it’s Cody approaching me. He’s coming at me fast, like he’s going to push me. I just put my arm out, and the security guy picks me up, moves me out. Cody starts getting all hot-headed, screaming, trying to throw his shirt off, trying to fight me. I’m laughing. Like, ‘Hey bro, you better get serious, you’re fighting my teammate tomorrow.’ I’m here for Dom. Then they broke it up. I was just shocked by the whole situation. This dude has got a fight coming up and he’s mad at me. I thought me and him were cordial. I got no problems with him. I’m here to support my teammate.”
Stephens, who competes one weight class above Garbrandt at featherweight, was surprised with the lack of urgency from security.
“I’m shocked that the UFC would even allow us to be crossing paths with these guys. Dom and him do not like each other. I honestly am shocked that he would even approach me, even when my back is turned. I avoided the whole situation. I didn’t want anything like that to happen. He starts approaching me, but he wants to make it sound like I’m the bad guy when I’m here to support my teammate. He’s here to fight and kick some ass.”
Garbrandt responded via text with a Conor McGregor-style insult.
“Dude’s a b*tch and scratched my neck with his b*tch nails. He is lucky I had my hands full and was taken from behind by a few people. Cruz knows he can’t beat me so he brings his self-proclaimed savage in and hype man.
“Like Conor (McGregor) said, who the fook (sic) is that guy.”
Garbrandt and Cruz traded insults during an interview yesterday, and things got heated when the current bantamweight champion mentioned his opponent’s girlfriend. The interview ended early after Garbrandt threatened to storm Cruz’s media room.
Both men will collide in a co-headlining bout at UFC 207, which sees Cruz defend his 135 lbs title for the fourth time. The pay-per-view takes place tomorrow night, Dec. 30, at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and is headlined by a women’s bantamweight championship tilt between Amanda Nunes and Ronda Rousey.
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