Cody Garbrandt has nothing to say about Sean O’Malley yet.
This past weekend, O’Malley attempted to regain his bantamweight title, which was submitted by Merab Dvalishvili in a rematch at UFC 316. But Garbrandt, who celebrated his three years of drinking last month, was forced to dig into O’Malley at UFC Atlanta Media Day.
“He looked like shit, so he should have kept smoking,” Garbrandt said. “Do you know what he had to do?
“Sometimes you lose and try to reinvent yourself and find yourself. At the end of the day, you know who you are. You know what you have to do. I’m one of the best fighters in the world.
A few years ago, when O’Malley was on the rise in the UFC, he and Garbrandt formed a rivalry online.
Many believed this would lead to a fight, but it never became a pass. This is because Garbrandt went down the rankings as O’Malley eventually became the champion. O’Malley is outside of title competition, and it could be a UFC marquee match, which is something Garbrandt is certainly interested in.
“It’s definitely a fight. I think it’s a massive pay-per-view sale fight,” Garbrandt said. “I’m focusing on the fight this Saturday. We’ll line up everything else.”
Another major storyline of the bantamweight division that comes out of UFC 316 is the division’s goat conversation. Many believe that Dvalishvili is already stakes his claims against the crown despite having only two title defenses, but as the former bantamweight champion himself, Garbrandt disagrees.
“Personally, I like Merab. I think he’s a great person,” Garbrandt said. “His hard work, his fighting style, he’s a really humble guy as a person. A great fighter. He’s raised it, he’s doing well, he’s winning, he’s doing him there.
“I really think Dominic Cruz is the biggest bantamweight ever. From WEC to this point, Dominic Cruz has that. It’s hard to keep saying, “The best, the best!” “How best or great can you win in the weight class?
“And that also shows how talented the bantamweight talent is.” The greatest, biggest, greatest, “How great is it that we heard? There was Henry Sejude, the bantamweight/flyweight champion who was there.
Garbrandt will face Raoni Barcelos in the main card battle at UFC Atlanta this Saturday.