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Bantamweight Champion Ruled Out of UFC 292

Originally posted on MMA Sucka | By Mike Howley | Last updated 8/16/23

UFC 292 has suffered another pull out with the event set to take place later this week. This time it is a former bantamweight champion who has been removed from the card. Fans should not worry too much though, the bout between Aljamain Sterling and Sean O’Malley will still be going ahead.

The champion who is no longer appearing is none other than Cody Garbrandt. Garbrandt won the belt over Dominick Cruz in one of the most impressive title performances in the history of the UFC. Ultimately he would lose the belt in his first defence to TJ Dillashaw and that would be the start of a downward skid of his career.

After reaching the top of his division undefeated and as an 11-0 fighter, Garbrandt would lose to Dillashaw in 2017. He would fight six times between 2017 and 2021 and would lose five of these, four by KO and firmly relegated himself from the rankings and title picture.

After taking some time off Garbrandt returned to the octagon at UFC 285 and picked up his first victory in three years with a unanimous decision win over Trevin Jones. It looked like he was becoming an active part of the roster once again and was hoping to build on his momentum with a win over Mario Bautista at the weekend.

Unfortunately though Garbrandt is out of the bout with Bautista due to a back injury he sustained in training just days before the fight. He confirmed this by tweeting:

Yes I’m bummed I tore my disk again. I’ll be back in there sooner than later.

— Cody Garbrandt (@Cody_Nolove) August 13, 2023

Indeed Garbrandt will likely see this bout as a missed opportunity, Bautista is no joke with a four fight win streak to his name and continually hovering just outside of the top 15 rankings. A win over him for “No Love” would have shown that Garbrandt is back and better than ever and his former status as a champion combined with Bautista’s status as a legit contender to the top 15 would have surely granted Garbrandt a place back in the rankings. Yet, he will have to rest and recuperate. Bautista himself must lament the injury as well, a five fight win streak with a former champion thrown in there as well is no joke and would have provided a significant boost in his credibility as well as his popularity.

Bautista will remain on UFC 292, however, taking on Da’Mon Blackshear. Blackshear will make an insane seven day turn-around after he notched a twister submission this past weekend.

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