A bantamweight fight between Cody Garbrandt and Rani Yahya has now been re-scheduled for UFC Fight Night 211 on October 1st at a destination still to be confirmed at this stage.
The fight had originally been scheduled for July 2nd, but Yahya was forced to pull out after suffering a neck injury.
For the 31-year-old Garbrandt, this fight comes at a time when the former bantamweight champion holds just one win from his last six Octagon outings. It’s a remarkable reversal in fortunes given that he’d won all 11 of his pro-bouts before that, including a convincing unanimous decision win over Dominick Cruz to seize the belt.
However, it’s been all downhill from there, with Garbrandt subsequently losing back-to-back title fights against his rival TJ Dillashaw via TKO and then KO. That was followed by a TKO defeat against Pedro Munhoz, before a brief respite with a KO win against Raphael Assuncao.
Last year he went on to lose by unanimous decision against Rob Font and then was TKO’d in the first round by Kai Kara-France.
With there being real concerns about Garbrandt’s chin it’s perhaps telling that he’s been willing to wait on the sidelines to ensure this match-up with the 37-year-old Yahya can still go ahead as his opponent has never been known for his striking prowess.
In fact, Yahya has never finished a fight on the feet, but he has carved out a long career for himself thanks to his BJJ ability, with a remarkable 21 submission finishes to his credit, and he’s only lost one of his last seven bouts.
Garbrandt vs. Yahya will join a UFC Fight Night 211 card that is expected to be headlined by Mackenzie Dern vs. Yan Xioanan.
