Cody Garbrandt: UFC Fight Night 188 win sets up title shots at bantamweight and flyweight

LAS VEGAS – Cody Garbrandt thinks a win over Rob Font in the UFC Fight Night 188 main event opens multiple championship doors for him.

Garbrandt (12-3 MMA, 7-3 UFC), a former UFC bantamweight champion, meets Font (18-4 MMA, 8-3 UFC) in Saturday’s headliner at the UFC Apex, which streams on ESPN+. It’s a key bout for the 135-pound division, but Garbrandt believes the matchup holds title stakes for himself in the flyweight division, as well.

He was supposed to challenge 125-pound champion Deiveson Figueiredo at UFC 255 in November before a grueling encounter with COVID-19 forced him to withdraw. Once Figueiredo rematches Brandon Moreno at UFC 263 on June 12, Garbrandt sees a path to slide in against the winner while also waiting for bantamweight champ Aljamain Sterling to have his rematch with Petr Yan.

“I’m looking at being a two-time weight division champion,” Garbrandt told MMA Junkie at UFC Fight Night 188 media day on Wednesday. “That’s my goal. I know we have a little bit of a circus act up front with Aljamain and Yan, they have to run that back. Aljamain just had neck surgery, so that’s going to be prolonged for a little bit. I feel like this fight right here is a title eliminator, so I finish Rob on Saturday, I have options. I have options, too, at bantamweight and be next in line for that – it works out perfect for me.

“You look back at November and with COVID and the things it took away from my life, but it set me up better with more opportunities. I win this fight on Saturday, I can be next in line for a bantamweight title shot, then (Figueiredo) and (Moreno) fight a few weeks after me. … Hopefully no one gets injured in there, they can come out unscathed, and we can make that fight happen sooner than later. That’s the perfect world, but a lot of things go on with that.”

Garbrandt hasn’t competed since his highlight-reel knockout of Raphael Assuncao at UFC 250 in June. That was an important win for his career, as it snapped a three-fight losing skid and avoided a potential free-fall from relevancy. He was teed up to challenge for the flyweight title before his battle with COVID-19, which he said was far from an easy one.

“It was basically day-by-day what my body could do,” Garbrandt said. “I was on blood thinners. I had pneumonia. I had vertigo; the vertigo was horrible. I had blood clots, as well. It’s almost easier to have an injury than having COVID. I always took COVID serious. People are dying from it. But I take care of myself. I’m healthy, I rest, I recover, I eat well, I’m very conditioned. I thought if I had it, it would be like a flu bug, kind of. Man, it was not a flu bug for me. It was intense.”

It’s been 11 months between fights for Garbrandt, but he said he’s now at 100 percent and put in what he considers the most fulfilling training camp of his career thus far. He’s ready to perform to his highest capability and thinks this moment was made for him.

Garbrandt said he gives Font full respect as a credible and dangerous opponent. However, he expects his hand to be raised in the end.

“It’s a lot being in a main event, in a high-profile fight, and you’re facing Cody Garbrandt,” Garbrandt said. “You’re not facing Marlon Moraes, you’re not facing Ricky Simon, you’re not facing Sergio Pettis. You’re facing a hungry Cody Garbrandt who’s ready to get back to his throne.”