Despite his 7-0 record as a professional mixed martial artist, UFC bantamweight Cody Garbrandt knows he can reach another level inside the cage.
Ahead of his Feb. 21 UFC Fight Night 82 showdown against John Lineker (26-7) in Pittsburgh, the 24-year-old "No Love" will cross-train at high altitude in Albuquerque alongside noted coaches Brandon "Six Gun" Gibson, Mike Winkeljohn and Greg Jackson.
"I’m going to go out there in January, probably do a few weeks there, come back here [Sacramento] for a few weeks, then go back again for a few weeks, go back and forth," Garbrandt told MMAFighting.com. "I really like Brandon 'Six Gun' [Gibson]. His technique, his motivation, and his training...I believe in him, and he believes in me."
When the cage door closes and the lights go down inside the Consol Energy Center, Garbrandt see Lineker's brawl-first tendencies as the beginning of the end for the Brazilian.
"There’s nothing better to challenge yourself against than a heavy-handed striker like John Lineker. But, I mean, he’s a brawler. That’s it. He’s a brawler," Garbrandt said. "He gets sucked into those brawls. Anybody can take you out in a brawl, obviously. It’s a four-ounce glove, so that can happen. I’m going to make this guy miss so many times, he’ll look like a godd--n fool in there.
"When I knock him out – when I finish John Lineker – people are going to know I’m legit. In that fight, I get the opportunity to prove the hype is real, and that’s what I’m going to do on Feb. 21...It’s going to be a bad day to fight me, I know that."
LINK: Cody Garbrandt plans to do part of camp at JacksonWink, make John Lineker look 'like a fool'