Cody Garbrandt Buries Dominick Cruz Rivalry, Explains Why Rematch Serves Him No Purpose

Former bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt saw the revival of his UFC career in 2023. He competed in two fights, winning one at UFC 286 via decision and the knockout win over Brian Kelleher at UFC 296. Garbrandt recently appeared in an interview where he was asked about a potential rematch with Dominick Cruz. But ‘No Love’ did not seem too keen about that matchup.

Cody Garbrant was on top of the MMA world when he made his UFC debut in 2015. He racked up a six-fight winning streak, even capturing the bantamweight title by defeating the then-champion Dominick Cruz via unanimous decision. Now, let’s take a look at what Garbrandt had to say about a rematch with ‘The Dominator’.

Cody Garbrandt has no interest in a rematch against Dominick Cruz

‘No Love’ went through a downward spiral in his UFC career from 2017 to 2021. He lost five fights and won just one. However, Cody Garbrandt seemed to have found his mojo as he came back strong in 2023. Now that he’s on a roll, the former champion has no plans to rekindle an old rivalry. He said, “Honestly, that fight [against Cruz] doesn’t interest me. I mean, where am I supposed to go to do the guy? You know what I mean?”

Having dominated ‘The Dominator’ in his previous fight, Cody Garbrant believes that knocking Cruz out the next time would be the nail in the coffin. Nevertheless, he believes he may not be able to outperform what did he at UFC 207. “Going and knock him out this time? That’s the only thing that would kind of put a statement… It’s so hard to top that performance,” Garbrandt added. Rather than fighting an old rival, ‘No Love’ has his sights set on a different path. He wants to be on the top once again.

‘No Love’ wants to get back into title contention

The former bantamweight champion mentioned that he is solely focused on getting back into the title picture. As such, fighting Dominick Cruz won’t help his case. Instead, Cody Garbrandt wants to fight bantamweight newcomer Deiveson Figueiredo, who recently defeated Rob Font. He further stated, “I think Deiveson Figueredo coming to the bantamweight division, just having a win over Rob Font, I go knock Deiveson out, putting myself right back into title contention.”

At 32 years of age, this could be ‘No Love’s last chance to become a champion. He claimed not wanting to be just a title contender, but a two-time champion. “That’s what I am here to do. I never want to be a runner-up in this sport. [I want to] always be at the top,” Cody Garbrandt added.

Read More: Why Is Cody Garbrandt’s Nickname ‘No Love’? Former Champ Explains the Real Story Behind His Moniker

We don’t know what’s next for Cody Garbrandt yet. However, with more fights to be announced for the upcoming first four 2024 pay-per-views, we might see him getting a place on one of those cards. Many fans have urged ‘No Love’ to fight Dominick Cruz, but that may not be on the cards for him. Will he reclaim the bantamweight title once again? We will have to wait and see how things pan out for the Ohio native.

Watch This Story: Conor McGregor Fires Shots At P4P King Islam Makhachev As He Surpasses Jon Jones