Las Vegas – Opening UFC 300 will be former bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt who is adamant that he’s the one who called out Deiveson Figueiredo first as they get set to do battle on Saturday night.
“You know I called him out. He doesn’t want this fight. Let’s get that clear,” Garbrandt told reporters including Cageside Press on Wednesday.
“It’s a fight that’s been in my mind for a while. I was supposed to fight him nearly four years ago. I got COVID really bad, had to pull out of the fight, and focus on getting healthy.”
Garbrandt (14-5) and Figueiredo were supposed to fight at UFC 255 in 2020, but a bad case of COVID-19 took the former bantamweight champion out of the bout.
“It’s been an uphill grind to get back to this point, but I stuck true to myself. Believed in myself through the ups and the downs, adversity, what life throws at you, and everything comes full circle,” he said.
“We’re here fight week. I’m more excited for this fight now than it was scheduled in the past.”
Since the original fight fell through Garbrandt has been hoping for another shot at Figueiredo.
“He came up and had a successful debut win at bantamweight and I feel good here. This is my weight and I’m here to remind everybody that I’m the best in the world,” he said.
Watch the entire media day scrum with Cody Garbrandt above. He takes on Deiveson Figueiredo at UFC 300 on Saturday night.
