Typically, combat sports promotions have a fighter who serves as the face of the organization. One notable example is Conor McGregor, who remains a standout talent for the UFC Following McGregor, the promotion sought to elevate a young prospect, Cody Garbrandt, to take on that role. However, this attempt ended up being a significant failure, as highlighted by former UFC champion TJ Dillashaw.
TJ Dillashaw is a former rival of Cody Garbrandt, and they fought each other twice, once in UFC 217 and again in UFC 227. Recently, Dillashaw appeared on a podcast where he reminisced about the anticipation surrounding Garbrandt ahead of their fights. As such, he even mentioned how the promotion believed that ‘No Love’ could become the next Conor McGregor.
(Garbrandt) had an amazing fight against (Dominick) Cruz… The UFC’s like, ‘Hey, this is our next big horse. Let’s put some money into him.’ So, they marketed the sh*t out of him… From what I was told, they put like $6 million into marketing him before our fight… So, he went to massive stardom fast. They wanted him to be the next Conor McGregor…
TJ Dillashaw via The Casuals MMA
Everyone in the MMA community is well aware of McGregor’s stature. The Irishman was one of the standout fighters early in his UFC career, largely due to his captivating presence. Even after a decade in the promotion, McGregor still maintains significant popularity within the UFC community. Interestingly, Garbrandt also had an exciting early UFC career reminiscent of McGregor’s.
😳 💰 TJ Dillashaw says that the UFC invested $6 million into promoting Cody Garbrandt after his win over Dominick Cruz.
They expected him to become the “next Conor Mcgregor”.
🎥 The Casuals MMA pic.twitter.com/oW3Sas7qG2
— Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight) November 8, 2024
Garbrandt made his promotional debut in 2015. Following that, he maintained an exceptional performance, achieving six consecutive victories that led him to UFC gold. As TJ Dillashaw noted, the UFC executives were impressed with Garbrandt’s performances. As such, it even led them to believe that ‘No Love’ could become the next generation’s McGregor. However, it didn’t go as planned.
Cody Garbrandt withdraws from his upcoming fight at UFC Vegas 100
Cody Garbrandt’s UFC career has experienced numerous highs and lows. Early in his career, he quickly gained fame, but subsequent years have presented several challenges. This rollercoaster led Garbrandt to attempt to compete in a lower-weight category, although that endeavor did not go well for him. Recently, he was scheduled to fight Miles Johns in a bantamweight clash at UFC Vegas 100.
According to multiple sources, Garbrandt withdrew from his scheduled co-main event fight against Johns just a few days before the event. The reasons for his withdrawal have not yet been disclosed, marking another unexpected pullout in recent weeks. Nevertheless, his opponent, Johns, is eager to compete on that card.
Breaking: Multiple sources informed me Cody Garbrandt is out of his #UFCVegas100 fight against Miles Johns on Saturday. Johns is hoping to remain on the card. https://t.co/FW28AlLJFv
— Cole Shelton (@ColeShelton91) November 6, 2024
Meanwhile, following his recent loss to Deiveson Figueiredo, Garbrandt appeared eager to make a strong comeback. However, recent developments have led to another setback in his UFC career. It will be interesting to see how quickly the former UFC bantamweight champion can recover from his current downward trajectory.
