Former UFC bantamweight champ Cody Garbrandt has his next opponent. Garbrandt will face Julio Arce (MMA record 18-6) at UFC 285 on March 4th. The bout will take place in the 135lbs division. Cody is on a 2-fight losing streak as he lost both of his last two bouts against Rob Font and Kai Kara France.
His bout against Kai Kara France at UFC 269 was his flyweight debut in the UFC. However, it did not go too well for him as the Kiwi took only 3:21 minutes to knock him out in the bout. Cody failed to make an impression at the 125lbs division and looked exhausted after such a draining cut to flyweight. Hence, a return to the 135lbs division is a wise decision for the 31-year-old.
It’s official. Julio Arce (@JArceTSMMA) will face Cody Garbrandt in a bantamweight bout at UFC 285 on March 4. 💥 #UFC285 #GP pic.twitter.com/aLixhflwxD
— Paradigm Sports (@ParadigmSports) December 14, 2022
His opponent Julio Arce is also coming off a loss against Montel Jackson at UFC 281. In his last 8 UFC fights, Arce has a record of 4-4. Although he is not an elite fighter at bantamweight at the moment, Cody perhaps needs an opponent similar to him. In his last few bouts, Cody always looked to be in danger of suffering a bad KO loss.
Although Julio Arce may not be the most prolific KO artist in the UFC, the 33-year-old has 2 KO wins in his last 4 wins. But, Arce is a big threat on the ground and is a 2nd-degree Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) black belt holder. But, Cody will be prepared for that as he is set to hold his fight camp in Dagestan.
Cody Garbrandt will hold a training camp in Dagestan for UFC 285
Cody Grabrandt recently took to Instagram to show that he had a training session with Khamzat Chimaev. It showed that he was looking to tighten up his ground game ahead of his return. However, Cody has an MMA record of 12-5. Although he has 10 KO wins, Garbrandt does not have a single submission win to his name. He is more than likely to get tested on the mat against Julio Arce.
But, “No Love” is not leaving any stone unturned to round out his game. His dedication to improving was recently proved when Sukhrab Magomedov posted a photo that implied that Cody was traveling to Dagestan to hold a training camp with Gorets FT. As MMA fans know, Sukhrab is the head coach of former UFC title contender Magomed Anakalev.
UFC 285 goes down on March 4th inside the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The card is rumored to feature the return of the former light heavyweight champ Jon Jones to fight Francis Ngannou for the heavyweight belt.
