C. Garbrandt (photo) talks about the injury that took him out of the fight against D. Figueiredo. Photo: Reproduction/Facebook UFC
Former UFC bantamweight champion (up to 61,2kg), cody garbrandt he was close to competing for a second title in the organization. The North American would face Deiveson Figueiredo for the flyweight belt (up to 56,7kg.), for the UFC 255, on November 21, but ended up being forced to leave the card due to a biceps injury. In a live broadcast on a social network, the fighter explained the situation.
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“I would like everyone to know that I have a grade three tear in my biceps. I had Covid-19 a few months ago and wasn't able to train MMA for about a month and a half. I've kept my weight down, so I've been cycling a lot just to stay in shape. I got back into training a little over two weeks ago, then I noticed my biceps were sore. That was just training, I hadn’t done MMA (…). My arm hurt for about two weeks when I got back into MMA and training hard. On Monday, I went to strength and conditioning to train. My arm was a little tense. I came back two or three hours later to work with my striking coach, Michael Malott, and had a great striking session. Obviously it was still sore. Later that night I felt a kind of throbbing pain that was more painful than normal. I put on some CBD cream and went to sleep. Then I woke up at 2am with terrible pain. My biceps were very swollen. So I went there, had an ultrasound and saw the tear”, said Cody, in a video transcribed by 'Combate'.
Upon informing Ultimate of the injury, the company didn't take long to announce Garbrandt's replacement. Out of action, the athlete gave way to Alex Perez, who will attempt to end Deiveson's reign. Cody stated that he tried to postpone the confrontation, but understands the company's position.
“I met the surgeon yesterday (Thursday 1st) and am waiting to have an MRI to see if anything else is wrong. I spoke to the UFC to let them know that I would probably need five weeks (to get back to training) to fight at the end of December. They chose to replace me with Alex Perez. I can’t be upset or angry, the show must go on, I understand that”, he concluded.
Cody was given the opportunity to challenge Deiveson after a big win over Raphael Assunção, in June, still playing for the roosters. After the triumph over the Brazilian, the North American started to challenge Figueiredo for the title of champion, claiming that he would be able to fulfill his commitment to the scales and perform among the flyweights. As he was a former champion and had great public engagement, Ultimate accepted the proposal.
Finally, Garbrandt assured that he remains focused on winning his second Ultimate belt. The plans, then, were for next year, when the fighter intends to return to active duty.
-“They promised me the title fight when I was healthy again. I can't fight fate. It is my destiny to be world champion. It simply won’t be in November, so it will be in 2021”, he concluded.
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