5 Things you didn't know about UFC Bantamweight Champion Cody Garbrandt
Cody Garbrandt was never meant to grab the spotlight or bask in success. He came from a troubled home in Uhrichsville, Ohio which has a population of under 6,000 people. Like most of the people in his part of Ohio, he looked like we would end up working at the local coal mines until fate intervened.
To be fair it’s a miracle that Garbrandt isn’t behind bars today, seeing that both his father and one of his uncles have spent time in the slammer. Even the uncle who trained him has an unsavoury history with the law.
From rural Ohio to California, and then to the UFC, Cody Garbrandt’s story of success is as unlikely as it is inspirational and here are 5 things that you didn’t know about it.
#5 Garbrandt had a troubled childhood but he turned it around after meeting a 5-year old with leukemia
Cody Garbrant’s father was barely around when he was growing up and is currently behind bars. So was one of his uncles. Garbrandt himself was kicked out of high-school for fighting and was soon selling drugs to earn a living and pay for his gym membership.
Garbrandt’s outlook changed when he met a 5-year old boy called Maddux Maple who lived in the adjacent town. Maddux was suffering from leukemia and it inspired Garbrandt to get things together and reverse the downward spiral he was in.
Three and a half years later, at UFC 182, after Garbrandt had beaten Marcus Brimage by TKO, Cody addressed the fans in his post-fight speech. He said that Maddux was sitting in the crowd that night with his family.
They had made a pact with each other years ago – that Maddux would beat leukemia and that Cody would fight in the UFC. On that night, Cody fulfilled his end of the bargain. Maddux had already beaten his cancer.