Cody Garbrandt plans on erasing all memory of his sole professional mixed martial arts defeat this weekend when he rematches TJ Dillashaw for the UFC’s bantamweight title.
Their first meeting, a stunning two-round affair in Madison Square Garden last November, ended when Dillashaw landed a flush left hook on Garbrandt to recapture the title that he had originally lost to Dominick Cruz.
This time around though, Garbrandt says that the result will be reversed — and he will cherish having the belt around his waist once more thanks to some words of advice from Mike Tyson.
“To cherish the belt this time, when I get it,” Garbrandt told ESPN’s Ariel Helwani as to what Tyson told him in the lead-in to this weekend’s main event. “That’s what he said. You’re going to love it so much, you’re going to have a newfound respect to be world champion once you reclaim this title.
Garbrandt was introduced to the former world heavyweight champion by a film producer, via mixed martial arts manager Ali Abdelaziz.
“Ali introduced me to a movie producer, and they were friends,” Garbrandt said. “That’s how we kind of got connected with Mike, and we’ve been friends for a few years now.”
