Dominick Cruz throws support behind former rival Cody Garbrandt: “I got nothing but faith in the guy”

Dominick Cruz has thrown his support behind Cody Garbrandt, this after his former rival suffered another tough knockout loss at UFC 269.

Cruz ( MMA) and Garbrandt (12-5 MMA) had previously collided for the promotions bantamweight title at UFC 207, with ‘No Love’ dethroning ‘The Dominator’ by way of a lopsided unanimous decision.

Cody Garbrandt never went on to successfully defend his title after defeating Dominick Cruz and instead suffered three straight knockout defeats. Adding salt to the wound was the fact that two of the stoppage losses came courtesy of Cody’s former friend turned bitter enemy TJ Dillashaw.

‘No Love’ finally appeared to be getting back on track when he starched Raphael Assuncao at UFC 250 in June of 2020 (see that here). However, that victory was followed by another setback, this time a unanimous decision loss to Rob Font.

After going just 1-4 over his past five fights at bantamweight, Cody Garbrandt made the decision to test the waters at 125lbs. ‘No Love’ made his flyweight debut against Kai Kara-France on yesterday’s UFC 269 main card, this shortly after his former rival Dominick Cruz had defeated Pedro Munhoz on the events prelims.

Saturday’s highly anticipated ‘Garbrandt vs. Kara-France’ matchup resulted in another nasty knockout loss for the former bantamweight champion. After a back and forth opening couple of minutes, the Kiwi was able to drop ‘No Love’ with a big punch. Cody quickly got back to his feet only to get dropped again. He showed his warrior spirit by continuing to fight back he was clearly badly hurt. Eventually Kara-France put him away with a final combination (see that here).

Kai Kara-France KO’s Cody Garbrandt at UFC 269

While some folks, including Sean O’Malley, believe it is time for Cody Garbrandt to hang up his gloves, Dominick Cruz still has faith that ‘No Love’ can turn things around.

‘The Dominator’ discussed his former rivals recent rough stretch during the UFC 269 post-fight press conference.

“I don’t know why other people haven’t been successful. I haven’t been part of their camps but I know that Cody is a champion, obviously, in his heart and mind. I think he will get back on track,” Cruz said of Garbrandt (h/t Sportskeeda). “He is still very young. Cutting down to 125 is, I don’t even know how that’s possible for him, but he made it work and he said it was easy so I think he’ll be fine. Just give the guy some time and let him find his bearings with his team or whatever he needs to find. I got nothing but faith in the guy.”

Do you agree with Dominick Cruz that former UFC bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt has what it takes to rebound from his recent rough stretch? Share your thoughts in the comment section PENN Nation!