Flashback: Watch UFC Champ Cody Garbrandt Get Knocked Out Cold

After winning the UFC bantamweight title from 135-pound legend Dominick Cruz in the co-main event of last December’s UFC 207, Cody Garbrandt is headed for a highly-publicized title bout with former champion TJ Dillashaw in the co-main event of July 8’s UFC 213 from Las Vegas.

Their bad blood comes from their well-documented history as onetime teammates at Urijah Faber’s Team Alpha Male, a camp where Dillashaw became the team’s first UFC champion – and also where Garbrandt reportedly knocked him out in training as a rising prospect. When Dillashaw split the team alongside former TAM head coach Duane “Bang” Ludwig; however, a dividing rift was created and “The Viper” became instant enemies opposite his old training partners and friends.

With Faber now retired, Garbrandt seems to have taken up the onus of defending Team Alpha Male’s name against a man they feel is a “snake” after he supposedly sold them out to take the higher payday at Colorado’s Elevation Fight Team. Riding high on one of the most impressive performances ever witnessed at 135 when he outclassed Cruz over five rounds, Garbrandt is quickly becoming one of the hottest rising stars in MMA.

But it wasn’t always like that, because while Garbrandt is undefeated in his professional MMA career, he lost two bouts in his amateur career, and one of them came when he was absolutely floored by Jerrell Hodge in the North American Allied Fighting Series (NAAFS) back in early 2012. Watch the shocking KO video right here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3GAiDBov40

Such a brutal stoppage loss will stick in a fighter’s mind, but while Cruz tried to point to the loss to Hodge as a sign of weakness, Garbrandt was quick to turn that around with his belief that the knockout only served to make him a much better and stronger fighter.

It’s hard to argue with that train of thought, too, as the ultra-exciting “No Love” has reeled off 11 consecutive wins against top competition, including nine by T/KO and seven in the first round. Garbrandt obviously displays knockout power that we’ve rarely if ever seen in the bantamweight division, and his rigorous commitment to training with TAM has paid big dividends for his all-around game during a meteoric rise to prominence as a young and marketable champion.

And it couldn’t be at a more opportune time, either, as the UFC currently needs bankable stars arguably more than they ever have in their nearly 24-year history. Dillashaw brings some of the most confusing footwork along with amazing accuracy and an NCAA-level wrestling background, but Garbrandt showed he could easily withstand all the skills of “The Dominator,” who beat Dillashaw, albeit quite narrowly, in their early 2016 meeting.

MMA math rarely adds up, and the bad blood dynamic of this fight will certainly mean that emotions will be running high for both sides. The drama of the TV show has amplified that to a much greater degree as well, especially with Faber present as one of Garbrandt’s coaches.

Dillashaw will bring a unique challenge, that much is true, but it’s also one Garbrandt has seen before. So while the champ has been brutally knocked out before, he’s shown he has rebounded to become one the fast-rising stars in all of MMA.