UFC bantamweight contender Cody Garbrandt didn’t mince words when discussing former champion Sean O’Malley’s recent performance against Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 316.
“He should’ve kept smoking because he looked like sh*t,” Garbrandt stated bluntly, referencing O’Malley’s much-publicized lifestyle changes leading up to his unsuccessful title rematch against Dvalishvili.
O’Malley, who had openly discussed giving up various habits including social media and recreational activities to focus entirely on training, failed to recapture the bantamweight title after being submitted in the third round by Dvalishvili.
Garbrandt, who shares a history of verbal exchanges with O’Malley, suggested that fighters sometimes lose sight of what made them successful in the first place when trying to reinvent themselves after a loss.
“Sometimes, you know, you lose and you try to reinvent yourself and find yourself. And at the end of the day, man, like, you know who you are,” Garbrandt explained. “You know what you got to do. I know I’m, you know, one of the best fighters in the world.”
The former bantamweight champion continued, “When you lose, you’ve got everyone in your ear saying you need to do this and do that. Just remember what got you there and who you are at the end of the day.”
Despite his criticisms, Garbrandt acknowledged that a potential matchup between himself and O’Malley would generate significant interest in the UFC. “That’s a fight that, you know, definitely, I think that’s a huge pay-per-view sale, fight,” he remarked.
However, Garbrandt emphasized that his immediate focus remains on his upcoming contest this weekend, stating, “I’m focused on this fight this Saturday, and then we’ll let, you know, everything else fall in line.”
