Cody Garbrandt: 'I've Been in Some Real Sh*t, Cruz Hasn't'
Cody Garbrandt: 'I've Been in Some Real Sh*t, Cruz Hasn't'
UFC bantamweight title challenger Cody Garbrandt believes his background sets him apart from Dominick Cruz.
The clock is ticking down on 2016 but with UFC 207 still to come, the drama isn’t quite yet over.
Ronda Rousey may be dominating much of the buildup, but for one 25-year-old, December 30 is all about him and his opportunity to capture his first UFC title.
The UFC bantamweight champion may have buried his beef with longtime foe Urijah Faber this weekend, but with Cody Garbrandt the war of words continues. While some have cracked under Cruz’s witty talk, Garbrandt has been holding own and at least to have been unaffected by the champion’s mind games.
“Nothing I’ve said has been prepared, this is just who I am,” Garbrandt told UFC Unfiltered. “Going in there I knew that’s what he wants to do. He’s so desperate to get under my skin and get me out of my gameplan.
“He doesn’t know what fighter I am. In interviews, he says he’s never seen me wrestle or in the fourth or fifth rounds, but I just let him know if you are man enough to take me to the fourth and fifth round or if he puts me in those positions where I need to fight out—I’m a fighter, I’m a survivor and I’m going to find a way.
[tweet url="https://twitter.com/Cody_Nolove/status/806386235853914112" hide_media="0" hide_thread="1"]
“Yes, I knock people out, but I’ve also got skills and I’m here for a reason. I just let him know I’m not just going in there trying to be a power puncher trying to know him out. I’ve got skills and he has to make me tap into my skills.”
While Garbrandt feels comfortable that he has the martial arts skillset to give Cruz trouble, he also believes that he has the edge over him in the war of words and that the champion has come up short this time around in the back and forth backchat.
“I am who I am—he’s just a fake person,” Garbrandt said. “When the cameras are on him he’s a totally different person. He’s the one cussing going and talking about Daddy issues and ignorant stuff. He’s talking like he’s a teenage girl.”
Though some might be enjoying all the trash talking and backchat, Garbrandt was quick remind everyone that when the cage door closes all that went before will count for very little. The Team Alpha Male man has only one thing on his mind when the cage door closes.
“I’m not just in there to get a trophy or to just get a win, I’m going in there to hurt you,” Garbrandt said. “He’s saying he’s going to knock me out and put me in the hospital—that right there motivates me. I use that as fuel, I say that guy is going to really try and come out and hurt me.
“I believe when I say, but he knows that he can’t knock me out. If he thinks the only way to beat me is to knock me out then he’s in for a rude awakening. He’s never knocked anyone out before. He finished one person—Tekaya [Mizugaki].”
[tweet url="https://twitter.com/Cody_Nolove/status/805814097732202496" hide_media="0" hide_thread="1"]
Garbrandt believes that whatever questions Cruz poses him on December 30, he will have the answer for. With ten straight victories and nine finishes to his name, unsurprisingly the challenger is walking in with the confidence of a man who can’t be beaten.
“I’ve just let him know that if he’s man enough to take me into those deep waters then I’m going to swim,” Garbrandt said. “I train with killers and I’ve prepared for myself for a high-action, high-paced fight. I’ve trained hard and prepared my body to go in there for five rounds.
“I know I can steal it with one punch. If it has to be a dog fight then I’m prepared to do that. I’ve fought in situations where I didn’t think I was going to come out with my life in some street fights. He’s never been in a street fight where he’s had to fight for his life or getting stabbed. I’ve been in some real s*** and I know for a fact that he hasn’t.”
Ronda Rousey may be dominating much of the buildup, but for one 25-year-old, December 30 is all about him and his opportunity to capture his first UFC title.
The UFC bantamweight champion may have buried his beef with longtime foe Urijah Faber this weekend, but with Cody Garbrandt the war of words continues. While some have cracked under Cruz’s witty talk, Garbrandt has been holding own and at least to have been unaffected by the champion’s mind games.
“Nothing I’ve said has been prepared, this is just who I am,” Garbrandt told UFC Unfiltered. “Going in there I knew that’s what he wants to do. He’s so desperate to get under my skin and get me out of my gameplan.
“He doesn’t know what fighter I am. In interviews, he says he’s never seen me wrestle or in the fourth or fifth rounds, but I just let him know if you are man enough to take me to the fourth and fifth round or if he puts me in those positions where I need to fight out—I’m a fighter, I’m a survivor and I’m going to find a way.
[tweet url="https://twitter.com/Cody_Nolove/status/806386235853914112" hide_media="0" hide_thread="1"]
“Yes, I knock people out, but I’ve also got skills and I’m here for a reason. I just let him know I’m not just going in there trying to be a power puncher trying to know him out. I’ve got skills and he has to make me tap into my skills.”
While Garbrandt feels comfortable that he has the martial arts skillset to give Cruz trouble, he also believes that he has the edge over him in the war of words and that the champion has come up short this time around in the back and forth backchat.
“I am who I am—he’s just a fake person,” Garbrandt said. “When the cameras are on him he’s a totally different person. He’s the one cussing going and talking about Daddy issues and ignorant stuff. He’s talking like he’s a teenage girl.”
Though some might be enjoying all the trash talking and backchat, Garbrandt was quick remind everyone that when the cage door closes all that went before will count for very little. The Team Alpha Male man has only one thing on his mind when the cage door closes.
“I’m not just in there to get a trophy or to just get a win, I’m going in there to hurt you,” Garbrandt said. “He’s saying he’s going to knock me out and put me in the hospital—that right there motivates me. I use that as fuel, I say that guy is going to really try and come out and hurt me.
“I believe when I say, but he knows that he can’t knock me out. If he thinks the only way to beat me is to knock me out then he’s in for a rude awakening. He’s never knocked anyone out before. He finished one person—Tekaya [Mizugaki].”
[tweet url="https://twitter.com/Cody_Nolove/status/805814097732202496" hide_media="0" hide_thread="1"]
Garbrandt believes that whatever questions Cruz poses him on December 30, he will have the answer for. With ten straight victories and nine finishes to his name, unsurprisingly the challenger is walking in with the confidence of a man who can’t be beaten.
“I’ve just let him know that if he’s man enough to take me into those deep waters then I’m going to swim,” Garbrandt said. “I train with killers and I’ve prepared for myself for a high-action, high-paced fight. I’ve trained hard and prepared my body to go in there for five rounds.
“I know I can steal it with one punch. If it has to be a dog fight then I’m prepared to do that. I’ve fought in situations where I didn’t think I was going to come out with my life in some street fights. He’s never been in a street fight where he’s had to fight for his life or getting stabbed. I’ve been in some real s*** and I know for a fact that he hasn’t.”