Pedro Munhoz put on a show at UFC 235, standing and trading with Cody Garbrandt until only one man was left standing in the opening round of their bantamweight tilt.
Opening up the UFC 235 PPV card on Saturday night, live from Las Vegas, Cody Garabrandt return to action — for a change, not against T.J. Dillashaw. After losing two straight fights to his arch-rival, Garabrandt, a former 135lb champ who dismantled Dominick Cruz in a career-best performance in 2016, was back against Pedro Munhoz. Breaking the winner vs. winner, loser vs. loser pattern of UFC matchmaking, Munhoz was on a two-fight win streak. Of course, title fights tend to be weighed a little differently.
But could Team Alpha Male star Garabrandt get back on track? In short, no, but it was still an entertaining fight until a mental lapse, arguably, led to Cody Garbrandt being finished once again.
Garbrandt had a kick caught, and ate a punch, early in the card opener at UFC 235. That led to a leg lock attempt, but the ex-champ was soon back in the middle of the octagon. Munhoz, meanwhile, was looking to work out his timing.
That feeling out period led to Garbrandt showing some impressive movement, reminiscent of his fight with Dominick Cruz. Munhoz was attacking Garbrandt’s lead leg, meanwhile. A spinning back kick followed. Another chop at Garbrandt’s lead leg, and the ex-champ was noticeably hobbled. Hobbled became wobbled when Munhoz next went on the attack, with Garbrandt going down, claiming a headbutt had connected. When he got back up, Garbrandt launched a flying knee then opened the floodgates, blasting Munhoz with punches. The pair then stood and swung, rock ’em sock ’em style, throwing caution to the wind. Unbelievable. Both men were landing. Garbrandt added a knee. Munhoz was bloodied. But it was Pedro Munhoz landing the finishing blow! Garbrandt went down, and that was all she wrote!
“That’s the kind of fight I like to bring,” Munhoz said after the fight. He said the fight was exactly what he had envisioned. “I never got dropped in training, not even in fight,” he said, adding he knew he could take Garbrandt’s punches, and serve up worse.
“I want to fight for the title,” he finished.
Pedro Munhoz def. Cody Garbrandt by knockout, Round 1, 4:52
