A new year, a new twist to our coverage of prospects on each fight card here at Keyboard Kimura.
After test driving The Tracking List over the final few months of last year, I’ve decided to switch it up and focus in on one emerging talent on each fight card rather than trying to spread the spotlight around to three or four fighters that are poised to step into the Octagon.
There’s at least one strong up-and-comer competing on every event – someone that profiles as a potential contender, possible champion or, at the very least, a long-term member of the active roster in the Joe Lauzon, Donald Cerrone build.
Those are the fighters more people need to know about in advance, so every fight week, this space will be used to introduce you to one such talent.
This is Prospect Watch.
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Name: Cody Garbrandt
Nickname: “No Love”
Record: 5-0
Division: Bantamweight
Affiliation: Team Alpha Male
Yes, there is another member of the Sacramento, California-based fight team making his way into the Octagon this weekend and yes, he, like the all of his teammates before him, has the potential to be a fixture in his respective division for years to come.
Garbrandt cut his teeth fighting in Pennsylvania and Ohio, picking up five straight TKO stoppages on the way to getting called up to the big leagues. He earned all those wins without venturing beyond the first 32 seconds of the middle round, showcasing swift, powerful hands and, as indicated by five stoppages in five appearances, a keen finishing instinct.
While he doesn’t have the standard Team Alpha Male pedigree – clean cut, boy next door appearance with a collegiate wrestling background – Garbrandt was a standout wrestler in high school and does have the upside all of his teammates presented when they arrived on the big stage. Young, athletic and obviously talented, “No Love” also gets the chance to make an instant impression by stepping in with a reasonably established opponent, TUF 14 alum Marcus Brimage, in his promotional debut.
The heavily-tattooed bantamweight prospect possesses an amateur boxing background and it shows in his striking inside the cage. He moves well, works angles and knows how to generate power without sacrificing technique, something not enough fighters – especially young fighters – do effectively on their way up the ranks.
Brimage has looked good since moving down to bantamweight – he did enough to get the nod against Russell Doane in his divisional debut and blasted Jumabieke Tuerxen with a nasty headkick to start the string of finishes that became the story of the last Fight Night event in Australia. As Zane Simon pointed out in welcoming Garbrandt to the UFC, however, Brimage has basically taken seven-and-a-half years to get to this point, while his opponent has done it in basically two, so while “The Bama Beast” holds a 2-1 edge in experience, Garbrandt has been a quick study that has done enough to earn an early promotion to the UFC.
Fight Prediction: Every fight in the UFC is tough and debuts are trickiest of all because it is a fighter’s first time going through the paces of Fight Week and everyone handles that sort of thing differently. That being said, there are a lot of things working in Garbrandt’s favour this week that should help him made the transition from the regional scene without issue.
For one, he trains around a host of experienced UFC vets that can prep him for what the week entails – arriving in Vegas, signing posters, how to manage your time during the week, etc. On top of that, his teammate Danny “Last Call” Castillo is also competing this weekend and while “No Love” is making his first appearance in the UFC, this is Castillo’s 20th fight for Zuffa, so he’s got an experienced shoulder to lean on throughout the week.
As for the fight itself, it all depends on how Garbrandt decides to approach the match-up.
Brimage has shown holes in his ground game in the past, but worked hard to shore up those deficiencies over the years, which means we could end up with a striking battle. If that’s how things play out, it could be a case of who lands first and who lands heaviest. Both are quick with their strikes, but Garbrandt has shown more power in his hands, and Brimage opens up a little too much when he’s winging shots, so there could be room for the newcomer to land and pursue another stoppage victory.
If the end doesn’t come quickly, Garbrandt should have the edge, boasting the superior conditioning and work rate. Brimage throws heavy right out of the gate, but tends to slow down as the fight drags on, so staying out of danger early and using the full 15 minutes to his advantage could work in the unbeaten Alpha Male’s favour.
Long-Term Prospects: “No Love” hits the UFC with the same outlook as his teammates Chris Holdsworth and Andre Fili – all three show tremendous upside and avenues for climbing the divisional ladder, but they’re all still a couple years away from being legitimate contenders.
TJ Dillashaw took two-and-a-half years to arrive as a title threat and ultimately upset Renan Barao to claim UFC gold, but the bantamweight champ was further ahead of Garbrandt and the others when he arrived via Season 14 of The Ultimate Fighter.
Team Alpha Male is a great gym for ensuring Garbrandt rounds out the remaining elements of his game and provides him with elite training partners, which could help accelerate his development, not that he needs to be on an accelerated time table. The next couple years should be about gaining experience and getting better, climbing the ladder incrementally, not by leaps and bounds.
Three years from now, it would’t be surprising to see Garbrandt as a Top 15 bantamweight and a fighter that has grown into being a championship threat.
