Former UFC bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt found himself in a bit of a puzzling match-up with China’s Xiao Long at UFC 326 on Saturday.
Long, while well-traveled on the regional scene at home in China, was just 1-2 under the UFC banner. Not the sort of record that usually lands a fight with a former champ.
Things got stranger from there.
Garbrandt quickly established himself at center as the fight got underway, backing Long to the fence prior to a very quick exchange. Then it was Garbrandt on the outside, where he’d eat a head kick but push through it on the way in. Long went low with a kick next; both men looked light on their feet. Garbrandt grabbed for a leg, but was forced to let it go.
The pair would end up in a clinch two minutes in after Long fanned on a punch. Garbrandt cracked him with an elbow on the exit, with both men having hurt the other in the round: Long with the head kick, Garbrandt with the elbow. Garbrandt would fan on a spinning back fist moments later. Long, meanwhile, was doing a little showboating after the exchanges, waving his arms. In the final minute, Garbrandt changed levels in a flash and landed a double-leg takedown. The former champ could not keep Long down however.
A push kick to the body landed for Garbrandt early in round two. He was on the outside, and this time evaded a Long high kick. A Long leg kick later tripped up Garbrandt, who popped right back up. Long’s movement was ever-present, and he began to target Garbrandt’s lead leg. With two minutes still on the clock, they’d clinch up along the fence, but this time they didn’t stay there, and there was no elbow on the exit.
Late in the frame, the pair collided as Garbrandt shot in, leading to an accidental clash of heads and Long falling on his posterior. Luckily, the head butt didn’t seem to impact either fighter.
Two close rounds saw Garbrandt enter the third potentially tied, or perhaps even down 2-0. Long landed low in the opening seconds, however, leading to a pause. Garbrandt took less than a minute before giving the thumbs up, with action resuming. For but a moment, as Long immediately landed low again. Garbrandt hit the dirt, and appeared to vomit inside the cage, a bucket brought in for him.
Ref Herb Dean took a point. When he was ready to go again, a fired-up Garbrandt pointed to the octagon, wanting to stand toe-to-toe. He charged across the cage into a flying knee, then took over in a clinch before Long turned them around, firing knees. And Long then landed low yet again! This time, Dean took another point, and threatened that the next foul would end in a DQ.
Garbrandt was fired up again, landing a combination. There was still over half a round on the clock, and Garbrandt had gone from potentially needing a finish, to possibly being up. He appeared to take his foot off the gas, however, offense dropping, and Long initiating the exchanges. Garbrandt was circling the cage more than anything, but finally popped off a combo starting with an overhand right. Long connected with another head kick, grazing Garbrandt. In the final minute, Garbrandt went after a takedown, leading to a clinch. In the end when they did go down, it was Long finishing on top, but with two points deducted he wasn’t winning the round.
The double-point deduction saw Long go from a certain win to a unanimous decision loss. A wild shift in momentum. An ugly, foul-filled fight, but one that sees Cody Garbrandt return to the win column after consecutive losses.
Official Result: Cody Garbrandt def. Xiao Long by unanimous decision (28-27, 28-27, 28-27)
