Cody Garbrandt cemented his position in the Octagon after defeating Dominick Cruz at UFC 207, but now the hotly-tipped underdog has his sights set on Mystic Mac himself.
After dominating Cruz to take the bantamweight title on 30 December 2016, Garbrandt proved he is an expert show-boater and his taunts pack as much punch as his right hook.
Since the fight, Garbrandt is setting his sights on lightweight champion, Conor McGregor.
Speaking on MMA Hour, he said he’d happily take on McGregor in a catchweight contest:
I’d easily go up [against McGregor], but my homie Nate Diaz choked him out and I can’t believe he’s the pound-for-pound number two on the list when he got choked out.
I’d go up to 150 lb to have a catchweight bout with him.
Me and Conor have the beef on the Ultimate Fighter. I have nothing against the guy, but it’s a business to me. If someone put their hands on me and I didn’t do shit about it, I’d be wanting to get them back, that’s for sure.
The two titans clashed on Ultimate Fighter when McGregor was coaching opposite his teammate Urijah Faber.
For now though, Garbrandt is focused on Aldo.
He told MMA Hour he’s looking to exact revenge for Scarface’s wins over his Team Alpha Male teammates including Urijah Faber and Chad Mendes.
Garbrandt said:
I need to sit down with Dana [White] and Sean [Shelby] and find out the biggest money-fight for me. I can go up a weight (to fight) Jose Aldo. He has wins over my teammates, he’s a legend, I’d like to test his chin. I know I hit hard and I’m just getting started.”
I think I saw Jose Aldo say he’d like to fight me… He’s got wins over my teammates and I want to get those back. But I just have to sit down with my management team, Sean, Dana and see what fights are the best for me to get us all rich, to get us all paid.
With his eyes on the prize, Garbrandt is ready to ‘dispose of the 135lb bodies’.
I’m sure McGregor is ready to pull on the Gucci Mustard and clap back at Garbrandt with his usual flair.
A former emo kid who talks too much about 8Chan meme culture, the Kardashian Klan, and how her smartphone is probably killing her. Francesca is a Cardiff University Journalism Masters grad who has done words for BBC, ELLE, The Debrief, DAZED, an art magazine you’ve never heard of and a feminist zine which never went to print.