UFC 250: Cody Garbrandt fights for pertinence

• Cody Garbrandt faces the toughest challenge of career so far when he enters the octagon at UFC 250
• Cody Garbrandt hasn't won a fight in over 39 months when he takes on Assunção at UFC 250

Cody Garbrandt last won a fight 39 months ago, therefore it would be needless to say that if 'No Love' were to lose the fight at UFC 250 he becomes irrelevant. The former champion enters the cage with a strong record of 11-3, which includes wins over Dominick Cruz and Thomas Almeida. Now under normal circumstances, it would be unheard of for a fighter as young as Cody Garbrandt to go from champion to staring at the face of oblivion that too in a short span of three years but Cody has been a special case since for a long time.

Starting his journey as a heavily hyped prospect of Team Alpha Male, Cody Garbrandt got his first major break in February 2016 when he defeated formerly undefeated Thomas Almedia by a first-round knockout. Almedia was expected to be the next title challenger and Cody Garbrandt was just a stepping stone he had climb. The fight stunned a major section of fans as Garbrandt seemed to have very easily dealt with the favorite Thomas.

The win put him under the radar and after then-champion, Dominick Cruz defeated Cody Garbrandt's coach Urijah Faber the path became very clear for a showdown between him and Cruz. After securing an easy win over Takeya Mizugaki, he got into a fight with Curz at UFC 207. The fight was an amazing back and forth which saw Cruz being toyed with by the younger and relatively under experienced Cody Garbrandt. At the event, Cody captured the belt.

It was after this win did things took a nosedive for the former champion. He engaged in a 2-year long high-profile feud with former teammate, T.J Dillashaw, and suffered consecutive losses. Though Dillashaw tested positive for EPO later the result of the fight for Cody Garnrandt never changed. He had a chance for redemption against Pedro Munhoz but he lost via knockout to him as well. The defeats lowered Cody's stock like most never could have imagined.

Going from the next-big-thing in 2016 he ended the year 2019 on a three-fight losing streak. The fall was unprecedented in recent UFC history and was something most didn't think would happen. If Cody Garbrandt losses this fight, he will officially be on four-fight losing streak and though fighters like AndreiArlovski have bounced back from such skids, the chances of Cody going anywhere from that point will be low.

Cody Garbrandt facing a dangerous opponent at a perfect time.

The bantamweight division is a mess that not many seem to be understanding. With Henry Cejudo's retirement, the division isjust getting denser. This has turned into an opportunity for a fighter Cody Garbrandt. Out of three losses, two come toT.J Dillashaw who tested positive for EPO thus watering down the impact it hadonhis record. As for the last loss this is where who he is facing starts mattering.

At UFC 205, Cody will be locking horns against Raphael Assunção, a scarily underrated fighter with a win over Pedro Munhoz. Assunção in his career has only lost to fighters who have in furture fought for the belt. If Cody Garbrandt wants to prove he's still got it in him and the last few fights were just a rough patch this is a perfect chance. Whenever chaos insues in an MMA weight class it becomes an opportunity for lower ranked fighters to claim a space in the division. Somethign similar is happening with Cody Garbrandt with this fight.

Published 29 May 2020, 18:18 IST