It looks like Cody Garbrandt is on his way to Dubai with top-ranked light heavyweight contender Magomed Ankalaev. Garbrandt recently posted an Instagram story confirming the news.
Garbrandt, a former UFC bantamweight champion, has had a turbulent run in recent times, losing five out of his last six outings inside the octagon. T.J. Dillashaw snapped his undefeated record when he defeated ‘No Love’ to lay hands on the 135-pounds title back in 2017 and subsequently beat him in the rematch as well.
Garbrandt’s last victory came against Raphael Assuncao at UFC 250, when he delivered a highlight reel knockout in the closing moments of the second frame of the fight.
However, he has since picked up losses to Rob Font and Kai-Kara France. Moreover, the former TUF coach has dropped out of the rankings altogether.
Magomed Ankalaev’s coach, Sukhrab Magomedov, initially posted an image of Garbrandt at the San Fransisco International airport with the caption:
“Cody is flying with us to Makhachkala”
Garbrandt later posted an update of his own via an Instagram story. The 31-year-old, who was accompanied by Magomed Ankalaev, claimed that the 205-pound title challenger insisted on paying for his coffee while referring to the Dagestani as “champ”:
“I wanted to buy my own coffee, but the champ [Ankalaev] said no, it’s on him. We’re heading to Dubai.”
Cody Garbrandt hasn’t competed since losing to Kai Kara-France in December last year. Garbrandt was supposed to face Rani Yahya on July 9, 2022, earlier this year. However, Yahya withdrew from the bout due to a neck injury. The fight was rescheduled for October 1, but after both fighters sustained injuries, the bout was scrapped.
Jan Blachowicz and Magomed Ankalaev clarify post-fight comments
In the immediate aftermath of the UFC 282 main event, which ended in a split-draw leaving the light heavyweight title vacant, many believed Magomed Ankalaev deserved to have his hand raised. Even Jan Blachowicz claimed that the surging Dagestani deserved the judges’ nod.
At the UFC 282 post-fight presser, Dana White slammed the two headliners for what he perceived to be a boring fight and subsequently announced Glover Teixeira vs. Jamahal Hill for the vacant title.
Magomed Ankalaev was clearly emotional and distraught after the fight, having come so close to winning the title. He later took to Twitter to clarify that he has no intention of walking away from the UFC. Rather, the Russian claimed that he would refuse to fight in Nevada again due to erratic judging:
“I wanna clear something up, what I said after the fight was I don’t want to fight in this city anymore because of the horrible judging. I did not say anything about I don’t want to fight in the UFC.”
Jan Blachowicz also took to social media to give his take on the fight. The Polish 205-pounder disagreed with Dana White on the quality of the fight and reiterated his belief that he believes he didn’t deserve to win, and that a draw was a “fair result:
“Let me reiterate something. First – I honestly don’t think the fight was terrible at all. Second – I don’t feel I’ve won but neither that I lost. A draw was fair.”