“Far more dangerous,” Former bantamweight champion names ONE fight more exciting than ‘money fight’ with Sean O’Malley

Former bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt recently won his fight against Brian Kelleher. As such, he called out Deiveson Figueiredo for a fight in the post-fight presentations. Figueiredo is a former flyweight champion who recently moved up to bantamweight. Now, ‘No Love’ claimed Figueiredo was a more dangerous opponent than bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley and shared his opinion about fighting him.

Cody Garbrandt, in his interview with ESPN MMA, was questioned about his next fight and interest in fighting Sean O’Malley. As such, ‘No Love’ expressed his interest in fighting O’Malley and gave his opinion on the fight. However, he was keener on fighting Deiveson Figueiredo next and claimed he was more dangerous than ‘Suga.’ Here is what he said:

If Sean's still the champion when it's my time to punch that ticket again. I would absolutely love that...I would love to just go smack him around. But, I think Deiveson's far more dangerous than Sean O'Malley. I truly believe that. Deiveson is my next adversary that I want to fight.

Cody Garbrandt via ESPN MMA

Cody Garbrandt and Sean O’Malley had been going back and forth against each other since the former rose to stardom in the UFC. As such, this matchup had the eyes of the MMA community. However, O’Malley reigned as the champion while ‘No Love’ was discarded from the rankings. But, Garbrandt was confident and set his eyes on the bantamweight gold looking to climb up the rankings. As such, he believed he would meet ‘Suga’ in the future.

Deiveson Figueiredo vs. Cody Garbrandt was earlier in negotiations in 2020. However, it didn’t materialize due to the weight class discrepancies. However, since both of them competed at bantamweight today, the probability of booking this fight increased. Also, Figueiredo earned his debut in the weight class against Rob Font. With the persistence of ‘No Love’ calling the Brazillian out, the UFC might book them.

Cody Garbrandt on rematch with Dominic Cruz

Cody Garbrandt vs. Dominick Cruz was a spectacle to watch in UFC 207. The challenger ‘No Love’ put the champion on his heels and won a comfortable unanimous decision win on the judges’ scorecards. However, what followed the title win for Garbrandt was a derail as he lost 5 out of 6 matches. Now, in 2023, he has revived his career with a two-fight win streak. As such, the idea of a rematch with Cruz excited the MMA world. However, ‘No Love’ had different ideas for his career.

In a recent interview, Cody Garbrandt mentioned his disinterest in fighting Dominick Cruz again. He simply gave a valid argument that he wasn’t interested and there was nothing left to top his first performance against Cruz. Also, he set his eyes on Deiveson Figueiredo and explained a win over him would put him right on the title picture.

Although Garbrandt wasn’t interested, the MMA fans welcomed this matchup. With Dominick Cruz on the back end of the career and ranked #10 in the bantamweight division, a win for ‘No Love’ would earn him the much-needed ranking spot. But, it was up to the UFC to set this fight up.

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