WATCH: Cody Garbrandt Lands a Massive KO at UFC 250 to Return to Winning Ways

Cody Garbrandt headed into UFC 250 saying that he needed the win for his soul. In the pre-fight press interaction, he said he had refound his love for fighting and also added that he needs fighting.

The former champion had been unsuccessful in all his fights since beating Dominick Cruz to claim the Bantamweight title in 2016. However, he put his torrid streak away in style. ‘No Love’ landed a phenomenal right hand on the buzzer to leave Raphael Assuncao woozy and claim a win to provide his stuttering career some much-needed momentum. 

Cody Garbrandt returns to winning ways with a phenomenal KO

‘No Love’ started aggressively and showcased his speed throughout the fight. He kept landing leg kicks on the 5th ranked Bantamweight Contender. Initially, the commentators were perplexed over ‘No Love’ having better odds. However, they attributed it to be because of his skills. 

These certainly came to the fore in the final ten seconds of the second round. Here ‘No Love’ had his eyes firmly focused on Assuncao even as he ducked a wild haymaker. He seemingly paused as time stood still before landing a blink and you miss it fight-ending strike and sauntering off.

As a result, the Brazilain appeared so winded that medical personnel took away the stool. They made him sit on the floor for a while till he could steady himself and get to a vertical base. Initially, he seemed unsteady on his feet too which says a lot about the power behind the punch. Joe Rogan kept exclaiming, “Oh my goodness!” He added, “I don’t think there’s a man faster in the sport.”

During the second round, just a few seconds before the end, Rogan expressed his awe at ‘No Love.’ He said, ” This is Cody 2.0. This is how he looked when he was the Champion.”

He certainly did as he secured his 12th win and 10th via stoppage. Now, Assuncao is on a 3 fight losing streak having gone down Marlon Moraes last February at UFC Fight Night: Assuncao vs Moraes 2 and Cory Sandhagen and UFC 241. 

The road is long in a stacked division for ‘No Love’ to go for the title he lost and failed to regain against T.J.Dillashaw.  However, it is a step in the right direction. 

What did you make of Cody Garbrandt and the calmness he displayed before absolutely nailing Raphael Assuncao?

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