Cody Garbrandt opens up on nearly attempting suicide as a teen

Speaking in a candid interview with I Am Second, former UFC bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt opened on one of the darkest moments of his past.

In this interview, Garbrandt divulged that, shortly after his high school wrestling career ended, he started doing drugs, and nearly attempted suicide. He says his brother Zach caught him at a crucial moment and was able to help him turn his life around.

“There’s a part of the story where Zach came and intervened in my life, where I wanted to give up,” Cody Garbrandt said (transcript via MMA Fighting). “I was a teenager, I think I was a senior in high school, I wanted to become a state champion again. I won state as a freshman [but] I got beat as a sophomore [and] I was injured as a junior. Wrestling was something I did my whole entire life and I think losing the passion for that, I didn’t have any drive. I just felt unaccomplished and I got in with the wrong crowd and started doing some drugs and partying and kind of living super carelessly and it almost consumed my life. I felt like my road was running to an end.

“For a while, I wasn’t who I was,” Cody Garbrandt continued. “I was in a very dark place, a very very dark place and almost hung myself. My brother came in the door and he saved my life. It’s the first time talking about it but I’ve never been more grateful for him. He came in and busted down the door and gave me the biggest hug and sat there with me and cried with me and said everything was gonna be all right. That was the day that really was a changing point for me and my life as well.”

This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 8/22/2018.