UFC 207's Cody Garbrandt: Dominick Cruz talks about my concussions because of his own fears

Cody Garbrandt and Dominick Cruz have been talking ridiculous amount of trash since well before they were set to face off at UFC 207.

Now, with Cruz (22-1 MMA, 5-0 UFC) set to defend his bantamweight title against Garbrandt (10-0 MMA, 5-0 UFC) at the event, which takes place Dec. 30 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and airs on pay-per-view following prelims on FS1 and UFC Fight Pass, Garbrandt thinks much of the champ’s trash talk stems from internal insecurities.

Garbrandt also believes Cruz’s time has come to fade out of the sport. He’s a relic of a different era, Garbrandt said during a media luncheon filmed by Champions.co.

“He hasn’t evolved, he’s been the same fighter to me,” Garbrandt said. “His movements, the way he fights, his strategy, the only thing that’s changed is he’s gotten older. He has two blown out knees, busted hands, he’s an older fighter in there. Like I said, I’m a hybrid fighter in there. I grew up in the martial arts, not just one. In the older school days, Tito Ortiz and those guys, they kind of got washed out. They did great, they were amazing. But there’s always a new wave. In the next 10 years, there’s going to be a new wave that I’m going to have to face. There’s going to be a young, hungry lion when I’m at the top of the mountain that’s going to try to take my title from me. That’s where he’s at right now.”

If you’re looking for proof that Cruz is ready to move on from being champion, Garbrandt said you only have to look at Cruz’s recent career choices.

“I believe he’s getting ready for the next chapter of his life,” Garbrandt said. “He took the FOX commentating job. He does amazing at that. But another thing, he said he’s happy not having the belt. He doesn’t need that to be happy. He’s kind of relinquishing that and getting ready for the next chapter. He’s ok without having it. I think he’s losing focus. He’s working two weeks before the fight and breaking down all these fights. He’s got me in front of him. He should be solely focused on me. I believe he’s ready for the next chapter of his life.”

The UFC has provided the two men plenty of opportunities to face off and insult each other.

The situation peaked this past weekend when the two spoke for a segment during the UFC on FOX 22 broadcast. A huge chunk of the segment was bleeped by the censors, but comments from Cruz about Garbrandt’s history of concussions did make it to air.

Cruz has made those comments several times. Garbrandt thinks he knows where Cruz’s fascination with the health of his brain stems from.

“It stems back to me getting knocked out as an amateur,” Garbrandt said. “It happens. But it stems back to his insecurities. Have you ever seen his interview about him getting knocked out in practice? He talks about that. It’s something that he fears. It’s something he thinks about. He’s trying to pass that on to me. You’ve been knocked out, there’s video of it. He fears me knocking him out. He’s damn right, that’s what I’m going to do in there. I’m knocking him out.”

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