Former UFC champion back in shape? Garbrandt scored a hard KO after a negative streak, this is how he sent his opponent face-first to the ground

No Love? The nickname of the former UFC champion, however, he hasn’t been getting much of it in recent years. However, during the UFC 296 gala, Cody Garbrandt returned in great form and scored an exhibition knockout.

It was December 30, 2016. The UFC 207 gala, which was headlined by a battle of female legends Amanda Nunes and Ronda Rousey, also offered a bantamweight title fight. Only 25-year-old undefeated prospect Cody Garbrandt took on the more experienced champion Dominick Cruz.

Cruz already had one defense under his belt, going into the bout with a record of 22-1, while Garbrandt was 10-0. No Love, as Cody is popularly known, won the fight on points and became the new king of bantamweight. The UFC seemed to be growing a new star.

Only the American never once defended. On the contrary, a decline has set in. He was beaten twice by T.J. Dillashaw, and lost five of his six fights after winning the title. Not with bad opponents, but suddenly the name Gabrandt lost its luster.

But the now 32-year-old fighter did everything he could to get back to the top level. He didn’t fight from November 2021 to March 2023. After two straight losses, he then got back on a winning streak against Trevin Jones, whom he defeated on points.

17. in December, he was given another chance and he was going to take it properly. He took on veteran Brian Kelleher on the prelims card and finally lived up to his No Love moniker.

Gabrandt delivered an awesome KO at UFC 296

Brian Kelleher is five years older than Cody Garbrandt, he also has a lot more fights under his belt, however No Love has a slightly better record. That’s also why he was the favorite. And it was a great fight.

Cody moved great, had very good and long combinations. Kelleher didn’t show anything of substance in the fight besides legkicks. And Garbrandt clearly had confidence and showed a lot of style. Moreover, at 3:42 he landed a deadly right hand and his opponent went down face first.

So it seems that No Love could be back in form, although it is too early to make such claims. After all, Kelleher isn’t the type of opponent that belongs in the top tier. However, Garbrandt has asked for a fight with Deiveson Figueiredo, which would already be a proper test.

Source: UFC, Tapology