BREAKING: Cody Garbrandt Announces Sad News for Fans

Cody Garbrandt will not be fighting Deiveson Figueiredo for the flyweight title at UFC 255. The former bantamweight champ has suffered a bicep tear and will not be ready to step inside the octagon in November.

The news was first reported by Combate and multiple sources have since confirmed the same. Furthermore, the UFC has decided to replace Garbrandt with Alex Perez. The former bantamweight champ hopes to get back in the challenger’s spot as soon as 2021.

‘No Love’ also took to social media to break the unfortunate news to his fans. He added that the promotion has promised him a fight with the winner of the upcoming flyweight clash.

Garbrandt’s replacement, Perez, is riding a three-fight winning streak and holds a record of 6-1 in the division. His most recent octagon triumph came against Jussier Formiga earlier this year in June via a first-round TKO.  Earlier, he was scheduled to fight Brandon Moreno at UFC 255. It is unclear if the UFC is looking for a replacement for Moreno.

Cody Garbrandt reacts to the UFC replacing him

After the news of the former bantamweight champ stepping out of UFC 255 broke out, Garbrandt took to Instagram live to explain his side of the story.

‘No Love’ told his fans that he tested positive for COVID-19 a few months ago. Thereafter, he wasn’t able to engage in proper MMA training for about a month. All he could afford to do was cycling so he could keep his conditioning up.

However, when he came back to active MMA training, he felt that his arm was sore. Seven weeks away from the fight, Garbrandt finished a session with his striking coach and went back home. However, he woke up in the night with excruciating pain in his bicep.

After an ultrasound, it was confirmed that he had suffered a bicep tear. Garbrandt told the UFC that he would need five weeks before he can return to training and added that he could fight in December.

Garbrandt said, “I just spoke with the UFC that I need five weeks, then I’ll be back to training. I could fight in December. They chose to replace me with Alex Perez. I can’t be upset about it. The show must go on. They promised me a title shot upon return. Can’t fight destiny….”

Fans will hope that Garbrandt can recover as early as possible and return to the octagon and continue his quest for a second title. What do you make of the replacement for the UFC 255 flyweight clash?