UFC bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt ready for ‘generic Dominick Cruz’

There was a time early in Cody Garbrandt’s professional career when one of his goals was to accumulate enough professional fights to meet the requirements to try out for “The Ultimate Fighter.”

Less than five years later, he’s the UFC bantamweight champion and the star of the show.

“I always pictured myself fighting on ‘TUF,’ Garbrandt said Wednesday on the set of the reality show, which is filming in Las Vegas. “I thought it would be a great career-booster to get noticed. You had to be 3-0 to even try out for the show, so I thought once I got those wins I would try out. I went a different path.”

It proved to be an express lane.

By the time Garbrandt won his third fight, he was on the fast track to success. Instead of entering the UFC through the popular reality show, he signed a deal with the organization as a 5-0 prospect in late 2014.

Garbrandt claimed the world title with a unanimous-decision victory over Dominick Cruz in December and accepted an offer to serve as one of the coaches on Season 25 of ‘TUF.’

The upcoming season, which debuts April 19 on Fox Sports 1, will feature former cast members returning to the show for a second chance and a $250,000 grand prize.

Included in the competition is even one current UFC fighter. James Krause asked for a chance to participate despite a current two-fight winning streak in the organization.

The show features a tournament of 14 welterweights and Krause felt it would be good experience as he determines whether he wants to move up to 170 pounds. The cash would be a nice bonus.

He figures to be among the favorites, though there are some interesting challenges in the bracket.

Eddie Gordon (Season 19) and Joe Stevenson (Season 2) are prior season champions. Several of the contestants fell just short on their first appearance on the show.

Ramsey Nijem, Hayder Hassan, Dhiego Lima and Jesse Taylor all made the finals. Taylor is a fascinating inclusion as he was actually pulled out of the championship match in Season 7 when his behavior at Palace Station on the night he got out of the house got out of control.

The rest of the cast members are Gilbert Smith, Julian Lane, Mehdi Baghdad, Justin Edwards, Seth Baczynski, Hector Urbina and Tom Gallicchio.

Garbrandt said he doesn’t expect a whole lot of shenanigans this season because the cast is more mature than a typical group of young, aspiring fighters that usually populate the house.

The same probably can’t be said for the coaches. Team Garbrandt will be opposed by a team led by former champion T.J. Dillashaw, who went through a very public exit from Team Alpha Male, where Garbrandt still trains.

Garbrandt, along with several of his coaches and training partners have been very vocal about Dillashaw’s decision to leave the gym.

“I’m excited for it,” Garbrandt said of matching up with Dillashaw on the show and then defending his belt against him at the end of the season. “It’s a fight I wanted for so long, especially with the animosity and hatred for TJ and what he’s done and how he’s acted not only as a fighter, but as a man.

“He’s the fakest person I’ve ever met. From the beginning.”

Garbrandt said the tension has been evident on the set, particularly with so much familiarity between the teams. Former Team Alpha Male head coach Duane Ludwig went with Dillashaw and is part of his coaching staff.

Most of the venom is reserved for Dillashaw, however.

“I knew T.J. was going to come in here and be TJ,” Garbrandt said. “I’m not surprised with the way he’s acting.”

Garbrandt’s dominance of Cruz to win the belt in December was somewhat unexpected. While he’s always been known for his immense power, he dominated the longtime champion in all aspects of the game to win the belt.

It has been a whirlwind for the 25-year-old ever since.

After a few days of celebration between Las Vegas and Califronia, Garbrandt returned home to Uhrichsville, Ohio. The town of 5,000 people threw a parade and Garbrandt rode through town on a float to his old high school.

“Everyone came out,” he said. “We had a big ceremony where all of my coaches and mentors spoke before I did. It was nice to hear them express how proud they were of me and what I overcame. It was all the people that believed in me from the beginning so it was nice to be able to share that with them.”

Then, it was time to get back to business. Garbrandt had said he believed Cruz had done in enough in his career to earn a rematch.

He was shocked when Cruz declined. According to Garbrandt, Cruz indicated he preferred to take a break.

“I was ready to give him the rematch. If I ever go in and talk a lot of (expletive) and a kid beats me like that, I’m going to want to get in there and do it again because I have a fighter’s heart,” Garbrandt said. “I don’t feel like Dominick does. I broke Dominick in that fight and I don’t think he’ll ever be the same. He turned it down. He said he would wait.”

Dillashaw was next in line and Garbrandt didn’t hesitate to accept the fight, even though it meant getting right back to work to coach on ‘TUF.’

“I’m very content with fighting T.J.,” Garbrandt said. “I’m happy to fight him. I want to fight him. T.J.’s not a good person. He’s kind of a generic version of Dominick Cruz.”

The rivalry should help Garbrandt avoid any kind of a letdown following such a meteoric rise to the world championship.

It’s not something he was ever concerned with, though. Garbrandt said his best trait is his work ethic and he has no plans to change what has brought him to an 11-0 mark as a professional with nine knockouts.

He also insists he won’t be distracted. Not only is Garbrandt a dominant young fighter, he is also seen as very marketable by his bosses.

That’s not something that interests Garbrandt at this stage of his career. He knows the money and fame will come, but he doesn’t plan on rushing things by trying to put together a highlight reel for advertising executives and Hollywood agents.

“One hundred percent I’ll knock T.J. out, but I don’t have to,” Garbrandt said. “I just have to go out and perform. I’m just now hitting my stride. I’m very excited about what I’m becoming as a mixed martial artist. I don’t feel like I have to go out and knock T.J. out to become this big mega-superstar. That’s not what I’m in this for. I’m in it to be the best. If I go out and knock him out, fine. But I’m here to be the best I can be. I want to be a Hall of Famer. I have goals inside and outside the octagon. None of them is to be a superstar. Right now the only goal is to just defend the belt become better and that’s what I’m working toward. I’m enjoying fighting. There will probably be a time where that will subside, but I’m just getting started. I want to reach my full potential and I feel like I haven’t even reached 50 percent of that.

“I’m very excited for the next five years of my career.”

It couldn’t be much crazier than the last five.

Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-277-8028. Follow @adamhilllvrj on Twitter.