ZenRhino's MMA Blog: 10 Questions With Cody Garbrandt

10 Questions With Cody "No Love" Garbrandt

I've known about Cody Garbrandt for awhile, but where he became known to fight fans here in Central & Western Pennsylvania was because of the events leading up to him fighting Dominic Mazzotta. When Cody walked into the cage after a win by Mazzotta when Dominic was mentioning how Cody had called him out at an event for a rival Pittsburgh promotion and the two got face to face. It took some doing to get this fight to actually happen (I even wrote an article about it where I called this "The Fight That Almost Wasn't") but Garbrandt Vs. Mazzotta went down & was probably the best/most exciting fight in the Pittsburgh area. Cody won that fight, and even though there were some "extracurricular activities" that went on in the crowd after the fight due to some fans who didn't like what happened in that fight basically starting a brawl it appears that the two fighters who started off with bad blood ended with mutual respect.

Cody had been training with Fight Club Pittsburgh, but awhile back he also started training at Urijah Faber's gym with the members of Team Alpha Male in Sacramento, CA. It appears that training with elite fighters who have UFC experience as well as D1 collegiate level wrestling has taken this very talented fighter to the next level. After defeating Mazzotta back in March Garbrandt had returned to California to Team Alpha Male to prepare for his next fight - against James Porter at Pinnacle Fighting Championship's Pittsburgh Challenge Series 7 on May 24th.

Cody is definitely a fighter to watch. I'm in the process of writing an article about fighters I expect to see in promotion like Bellator, WSOF or the UFC soon, and Cody will be in that article. Awhile back I had the honor of interviewing Cody, and I finally got it finished. I appreciate him taking time out of his busy schedule to answer questions about him both inside & outside the cage. I hope you enjoy reading his answers as much as I did learning more about Cody "No Love" Garbrandt.

1. Tell us a little about yourself.

My name is Cody Garbrandt. I'm 22 years old, and currently I am 3 - 0 as a professional. (9 - 2 including amateur fights) I have fought at Bantamweight (135lbs) and Featherweight. (145lbs) Since turning pro I have fought mostly for the Pittsburgh-based promotions Pinnacle Fighting Championships and Gladiators of the Cage.

2. How did you get started in MMA?

My mother put me and my oldest brother Zach (10 1/2 months apart in age) into wrestling because all we wanted to do was fight each other. So she thought wrestling was the closet thing to fighting, I played football & baseball and I also boxed, I loved boxing more than I did wrestling, so when I turned 18 I jumped into the cage and fell in love with that. I was constantly fighting growing up and I was heading down a bad path in life. Finding the Lord and getting started into MMA basically saved my life.

3. What gym(s) do you train at and what is it like training there?

I train at Fight Club Pittsburgh MMA and Team Alpha Male in Sacramento, CA. I train with amazing fighters at both places.

4. What do you feel your strengths are as a fighter? What do you feel you need to work on to be a more complete fighter?

My strengths would be my striking and grappling, Becoming a more complete fighter would mean believing in myself and putting all my skills together like I have been doing for my past two fights. I'm really starting to find myself in the cage and I'm enjoying my development as a fighter.

5. You sometimes train with Urijah Faber and Team Alpha Male. How has this helped you in fighting & what have you learned from training with such top notch fighters and having Duane Ludwig as a coach?

I have spent my past two training camps with my new Team. It has helped tremendously learning from some of the best coaches and elite fighters in the world. I've been very blessed to have put myself in this position with hard work and dedication.

6. You recently defeated Dominic Mazzotta in what may have been the biggest MMA fight in Pittsburgh history. What did that fight mean to you?

This fight meant a lot to me to come out and put a tough opponent away in a very hostile environment. Every fight is a step closer to my reaching my dreams.

7. After your win at Gladiators of the Cage you brought Maddux into the cage for the post-fight interview. Tell us about him & your involvement with children like him.

Maddux is a 7 year old kid who is from the same town I'm from. I got to know Maddux and his family over the past few years. He is battling leukemia, my brother called me one day and said maybe you could help this kid out I had no idea who he was so I reached out to his family and wanted to donate my next fight ticket sales to him, is how the relationship started. I met Maddux and he instantly touched my heart. We kept in touch I would visit him when I was in town we would face-time each other he would make videos and send them to me while I was training he helped me stay driven and motivated through his everyday battle and the struggles he goes through just to live life. He has shown me a lot about live and not taking anything for granted. He has a million dollar smile seeing that on his face makes my day. We walked hand in hand he lead me to my battle March 15th its a day ill never forget seeing his smile and eyes light up as he walked in the cage after my fight makes it all worth it.

8. What are your plans for the future? When will you fight again & who will it be against?

My plans for the future in life is just to be successful and be happy I want peace in my life when my fighting career is over. My goal is to be the UFC champion I would be selling myself short if that wasn't my goal I do this to be the best. Its hard to tell where ill be at in 2-3 years life always keeps you guessing what makes the ride enjoyable. My next fight will be announced this weekend at the Pinnacle Fighting Championship show, I'm very excited for it!!

(UPDATE: The fight Cody was referencing here is against James Porter for the Pittsburgh Challenge Series 7 event going down May 24, 2014)

9. Who are some of your role models?

I have a lot of positive influences in my life my biggest Role Model is my mother she has been through hell and back and has never lost her faith and has never given up on us children. I get my toughness from her, she showed us tough love growing up and everyday I'm thankful to have her in my life. In MMA its Urijah Faber i always been a fan of his, after reading his book a few years ago and visioning myself training with him its a dream come true when he asked me to become apart of Team Alpha Male!

10. Is there anyone you'd like to thank?

My family for always supporting me in whatever I do through the ups and downs. Mick and Melissa for there help and support over the past year and half my Fight Club Pittsburgh teammates, Alpha Male teammates and coaches. My Uncle Robert Meese he is my boxing coach and has been with me since day one. My Sponsors Jeff Brown, Brenton Whitman, Heavy Hand Tattoo, Kelly's Korner, 922 Drive thru, Prime nutrition, Torque, PGH MADE, NOLAC, Quads Not INcluded, Top of the Line Barbershop, Cheerleaders Gentlemen's Club, Dennison T-shirt! Thank the Lord for blessing my life. My management team MMA inc. All my fans, everyone back home in T-county (922) thanks for all the support!