Cody Garbrandt wants to fight “great human being” Brandon Moreno next, suggesting that it would be a favorable stylistic matchup for him.
Garbrandt is coming off of a unanimous decision loss to Rob Font in his last fight, and since then he has made it clear that he is interested in moving down to flyweight next. Remember, Garbrandt was actually supposed to make his 125lbs last year against former champion Deivieson Figueiredo, but he was forced to pull out of the fight due to COVID-19. Now that he’s healthy and active again, Garbrandt’s next move is to cut down an extra 10lbs and make the flyweight limit, and he wants to get his hands on Moreno’s belt.
Speaking to TMZ Sports, Gabrandt made the argument why he deserves the next title shot at 125lbs against the new UFC flyweight champion Moreno.
“It just makes sense. If Brandon wants to fight, I think he’s a great champion, a great human being. He’s leveled up a lot in his last few fights. I like him as a person, super happy for the kid. The trajectory and career that he’s had, being cut from the UFC, being the last pick on The Ultimate Fighter to becoming a world champion. A small percentage is able to be a world champion inside the UFC. He’s done it, did it in miraculous fashion with how he beat Figgy, so yeah I think he’s a great fighter. I think it’s a great stylistic matchup for myself and I finally get to fight at my natural weight where I think I’ll perform the best,” Cody Garbrandt said.
Brandon Moreno has also admitted that he is interested in Garbrandt as his next fight, so let’s see what the UFC matchmakers decide to do, but there is certainly a chance this he is next.
Speaking to TMZ Sports, Brandon Moreno admitted that while Figueiredo is always a potential opponent, he is looking at some other names for his next fight. One of them is Garbrandt, who might drop down to 125lbs after losing to Rob Font in his last outing, and the other names are Askar Askarov and Alex Perez, who BJPenn.com reported are fighting July 31.
“Man, I mean, (Figueiredo) is always a possibility. He’s the former champ, he looked impressive in his last performance. But I don’t know man, to be honest, I think the fight was very dominant by myself,” Moreno said.
“A lot of different names are right now on the roster. Cody Garbrandt — he lost his last fight (against Rob Font), but he’s a former champ, too, he has a name so he can be a possibility. This Russian guy Askar Askarov — he fought against Joseph Benavidez in his last fight, and help he looked impressive. We fought in 2019, it was a draw, so we have unfinished business. Other possibilities — actually he will fight against Alex Perez (on July 31), maybe the winner of that one can be the next one.”