A former champion had high hopes for Cody Garbrandt before he suffered back-to-back losses at UFC Atlanta.
Once the UFC Bantamweight Champion of the world, Cody Garbrandt’s career has never looked the same after dethroning all-time great Dominick Cruz in a masterful performance in 2016.
Garbrandt is 3-7 in his last 10 fights, losing to some of the best fighters in the world including TJ Dillashaw (twice), Rob Font, Kai Kara-France, Deiveson Figueiredo and more.
Like former champs Kamaru Usman and Rose Namajunas, ‘No Love’ tried to get back in the win column at UFC Atlanta but to no avail. Garbrandt lost a unanimous decision to Raoni Barcelos after three rounds, with many calling for his MMA retirement.
Right before his fight with Barcelos, the unranked Garbrandt was thought to be one of champion Merab Dvalishvili’s toughest tests stylistically.
TJ Dillashaw said Cody Garbrandt would ‘stand his ground’ against Merab Dvalishvili
On a 13-fight win streak, Dvalishvili is renowned for his relentless wrestling game and his insane cardio that backs it.
As for Garbrandt, the former champion is known for his speed, footwork, and massive KO threat.
A former teammate and rival of Garbrandt’s, TJ Dillashaw said Garbrandt has incredible takedown defense as well, which was prevalent in his fight against Barcelos.
Garbrandt defended 10 out of 11 takedown attempts from the Brazilian and has a takedown defense rate of 83%.
“I’m hoping Garbrandt can make a run back because I think Garbrandt would be really a tough matchup for Merab,” Dillashaw said on The Jaxxon Podcast days before UFC Atlanta.
“He packs a f—— punch,” Dillashaw said of Garbrandt, who knocked him down during their 2017 title fight.
“He’ll stand his ground. He’s hard to take down. He’s hard to hold down.
“If Garbrandt can get a run back underneath himself again, I think that’d be an awesome fight to see eventually,” Dillashaw said of Dvalishvili vs. Garbrandt.
Along with Garbrandt, Dillashaw named Aljamain Sterling and Umar Nurmagomedov as potential title threats for Merab Dvalishvili.
Last man to beat Merab Dvalishvili talks potential rematch
Dvalishvili hasn’t lost in the UFC since he was defeated by Ricky Simon in Apr. 2018.
Simon is no longer in the top-15 rankings after a loss to Vinicius Oliveira last summer at UFC 303 but the UFC veteran made it back-to-back wins at UFC Atlanta.
Simon followed up his first-round knockout of Javid Basharat in February with a decision win over Cameron Smotherman on Saturday.
At the post-fight press conference, Simon was asked about a potential rematch with Dvalishvili.
“It’s awesome to see Merab’s success and how comfortable he is as being a champion and being as dominant as he has been,” Simon said of the champion
“This just gives me all the confidence in the world.
“The UFC wanted to make that rematch before he even fought for the title,” Simon revealed.
“I think I was ranked, when I was top 10, and he was four or five or something. But, I don’t blame him though because it didn’t make sense for him to fight back at the time.
“That would be sick,” Simon said of a potential rematch with Dvalishvili.
“That would be awesome, like a full-circle kind of moment.