Former champion Cody Garbrandt put himself onto the first winning streak of his post-championship career when he took on veteran unranked bantamweight Brian Kelleher, coming out on top at UFC 296.
A win against Trevin Jones where he displayed a more patient style where he utilized his high school wrestling pedigree was just Garbrandt’s second victory since 2016. Still, with a victory over Kelleher he could perhaps put himself back into the conversation for a ranked opponent in the future. Kelleher lost his last two by rear-naked choke to hot prospects, but Cody represented a different stylistic threat, which resulted in his knockout victory.
The first round began with Kelleher pushing forward, Cody struck first with a counter combo. His hand speed was clearly still there and he showed some early aggression, but a calf kick from Kelleher backed Garbrandt up when it damaged his leg. Kelleher pushed after him and clinched up but Cody broke free. Garbrandt would rush forward behind punching combos periodically, but Kelleher always defended. It was when Kelleher was throwing his own punches that Brian got caught, as he could be countered with his chin up in the air. That happened with under two minutes left in the round and Garbrandt chased after his foe, intent on his first finish since 2021. Kelleher began to recover, but once again got caught trying to throw his own punches and fell facedown, forcing Mark Goddard to stop the fight for a ‘No Love’ TKO.
After the fight, Garbrandt and Joe Rogan talked about the gnarly bump on his leg from the kicks, as his calf had swelled to almost twice its usual size. Cody gave credit to his opponent, and to his team for preparing him, including fellow UFC contender Alex Perez. Cody Garbrandt declared his intent to fight several times in 2024 and called out former flyweight champion, who he was once supposed to challenge, Deiveson Figueiredo. Figgy’s recent move up to bantamweight makes that quite possible, if the Brazilian wants it.
