Cody Garbrandt targeting Jose Aldo contender fight in April 2021
Former UFC bantamweight champion, Cody Garbrandt, has said that he is targeting a bout with former UFC featherweight champion, Jose Aldo. Cody Garbrandt stated that he thinks highly of Jose Aldo and was impressed by the Brazilian's performance in his last fight against Marlon Vera at UFC Fight Night: Thompson vs Neal.
Garbrandt defeated Dominic Cruz at UFC 207 to become the bantamweight champion of the world. 'No Love' has lost three of his last four fights in the UFC since.
He intends to showcase his competitive spirit by facing one of the toughest opponents in the promotion's history, Jose Aldo.
Why Jose Aldo is the perfect opponent for Cody Garbrandt?
In his last fight, Cody 'No Love' Garbrandt secured an impressive knockout victory over Rafael Assuncao at UFC 250. Contrary to the speculation earlier in 2020, Cody Garbrandt will not be moving to flyweight. Instead, he revealed that he wants to fight Jose Aldo Jr. in April 2020.
Cody expects that current UFC flyweight champion, Deiveson Figueiredo, will be defending his title in April against Brandon Moreno. He said that he does not want to wait any longer for a shot at the flyweight title without competing.
"It's Jose Aldo, man. When He announced that he was going down to the bantamweight division... that's a great fight for me. Jose Aldo is a legend, right? No ill will towards the guy; I'm just a competitive guy that wants to fight the best and he (Aldo) looked good in his last fight. It's a great fight that motivates me, I need those fights that make me want to put the extra work in."
Cody Garbrandt lost his bantamweight title to T.J. Dillashaw at UFC 227. T.J. Dillashaw was later on suspended following a violation of the anti-doping policy of the UFC. Currently, Petr Yan holds the bantamweight title. Cody Garbrandt intends to secure his position for a title shot with a victory over Jose Aldo come April.
Due to health issues last year, Garbrandt had to withdraw from a scheduled title fight against flyweight champion, Deiveson Figueiredo.
It will be interesting to see how things play out in the bantamweight division in the upcoming year. Cody Garbrandt's arch rival, T.J. Dillashaw, is supposed to make his return to the UFC after a two year long suspension. With that said, Garbrandt has his eyes set on Jose Aldo to secure himself a shot at the title.