Former UFC bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt will have to wait to mount his comeback.
On Thursday, Brazilian publication agfight.com broke the news that Garbrandt has been hospitalized with kidney issues and forced out of his UFC Columbus matchup with Raphael Assuncao.
Shortly after this news surfaced, ESPN spoke to Garbrandt about this situation.
“I honestly don’t know what it is,” Garbrandt said. “A month ago, I had cellulitis in my shin. I went to the hospital and got that cleared with antibiotics. I got back into training, but then last Friday, the lymph nodes in my groin were inflamed and I didn’t feel well. I thought it was just due to rough training.
“On Saturday, I had flu-like symptoms. The lymph nodes were so inflamed I couldn’t walk. I took an Uber to the hospital and did a bunch of tests on my blood, kidneys, CAT scan. The doctor sent me home and 20 minutes later I felt even worse and started pissing blood.”
Garbrandt, who began his career with an impressive undefeated run, has lost his last three fights. First, he was knocked out by TJ Dillashaw, which marked the end of his title reign. He was then knocked out by Dillashaw for a second time, failing to reclaim the belt before experiencing a third-straight knockout loss in a wild firefight with Pedro Munhoz.
Unsurprisingly, the former champ was excited to attempt to get back on track against Assuncao—particularly in his home state of Ohio—and is disappointed by this twist of fate.
“This was such an important fight for me, not only fighting in my home state but getting my comeback started,” Garbrandt said. “I need to focus on my health right now, but I’m not ruling out a quick turnaround. I’ll be trying to get back as fast as I can.”
At this time, it’s not clear if a replacement opponent will be sought for Assuncao.
Who do you want to see Cody Garbrandt fight next?
This article first appeared on BJPENN.com on 3/12/2020.