Former bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt had to navigate more than just an opponent at UFC 326, overcoming a foul-filled bout to secure a hard-fought victory over Xiao Long on Saturday night.
“It was a very bizzare fight. My coaches had me prepared for a kind of similar style of him coming out aggressive and chaotic. We didn’t think it was going to be that chaotic,” Garbrandt told reporters including Cageside Press at his post-fight scrum.
Garbrandt (15-7) realizes that the bout was far from clean, with several awkward moments that disrupted the flow of the fight. Still, the former champion emphasized that experience and sportsmanship guided his reactions in those situations.
“We had some inadvertent fouls. We hit heads, I think it was in the second round, he fell to his ass on that. I didn’t see Herb (Dean) trying to intervene, but I was like not going to win off that or try to land some shots when he was down. I think the language barrier as well, him not knowing too much English,” he said.
“Me being a veteran of the sport I saw that he was hurt from the head butt. I didn’t jump on him. Next round I get inadvertently kicked a few times. I’ve never been hit that hard in the ground to where I was throwing up inside there. I didn’t want to go on a win just from getting that.”
Garbrandt turned his attention to what could be next in the bantamweight division, pointing to a rising contender who has recently made waves in the rankings. The former champion said the matchup would not only be stylistically interesting, but also a chance for him to work his way back into the top 10.
“There’s a lot of up-and-comers that’s coming in the fight. There’s this David Martinez from Mexico. He’s a young prospect that’s just beaten two top guys. Beat Chito (Vera) a few weeks ago, beat Rob Font earlier, he’s in the top 10,” he said.
“I like his style. That’s a good fight for me stylistically to get me back in the top 10.”
Watch the entire post-fight scrum with Cody Garbrandt above.
