Cody Garbrandt revealed he lost his passion for fighting right after he beat Dominick Cruz at UFC 207.
In the co-main event, Garbrandt, a then 10-0 fighter shocked many as he dominated Cruz to win a decision to become the new bantamweight champion. However, after that fight, Garbrandt went on to lose three straight fights all by KO and he says that was because he lost his passion for the sport.
“I was at that point in my career where like am I going to keep going half-heartedly in this because I kind of lost the passion for fighting,” Garbrandt said on Food Truck Diaries. “I felt like I was going through the motions. Honestly, after I won the world championship (I lost the passion).”
Why Garbrandt thinks he lost the passion was due to the fact he didn’t have another goal besides being the champion. Once he achieved it, he didn’t have anything else to strive for.
“I think I was so fixated on being a world champion and I got there,” Garbrandt said. “A lot of people were asking oh how is it? I was like, damn, it wasn’t what I thought it was going to be.”
After being knocked out by T.J. Dillashaw, twice, to lose his bantamweight title as well as be KO’d by Pedro Munhoz, the former champ had to re-find his passion for the sport. Cody Garbrandt ultimately did that after some time away and returned this past June with a highlight reel KO win over Raphael Assuncao at UFC 250.
Since the win over Assuncao, Garbrandt says he is motivated once again and is anticipating a drop to flyweight to fight for the belt. But, with Deiveson Figueiredo and Brandon Moreno set to rematch, “No Love” says he wants to face Jose Aldo in April.
