Cody Garbrandt will fight Trevin Jones on March 4 at UFC 285.
‘No Love’ has a new opponent once again. The former UFC bantamweight champion last fought in December 2021, losing to Kai Kara-France in the flyweight division. Since then, Garbrandt has been planning to return to 135 pounds, but he’s struggled to find an opponent that can make it to fight night.
The 31-year-old was initially scheduled to fight Rani Yayha, who pulled out twice before the UFC moved one. Garbrandt was then matched up against Julio Arce, who recently suffered an injury that made him unavailable for the next six months. ‘No Love’ has now signed on to fight Jones. Brett Okamoto broke the news on Twitter by saying:
“Per sources, Cody Garbrandt (@Cody_Nolove) will now face Trevin Jones (@TrevinAJones) at UFC 285, after his original opponent Julio Arce withdrew with injury. Set to be Garbrandt’s first fight since 12/2021.”
Since joining the UFC in 2020, Jones has had five fights canceled, with only a withdrawal against Raoni Barcelos being on his end. Meanwhile, Garbrandt seems willing to fight anyone, but bad luck continues to come his way. Both fighters will be looking to leave everything in the ring at UFC 285, especially considering they need a win.
Per sources, Cody Garbrandt (@Cody_Nolove) will now face Trevin Jones (@TrevinAJones) at UFC 285, after his original opponent Julio Arce withdrew with injury. Set to be Garbrandt's first fight since 12/2021.
— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) February 3, 2023
What’s at stake between Cody Garbrandt and Trevin Jones?
The harsh reality is that Cody Garbrandt and Trevin Jones could be fighting for their jobs at UFC 285. Garbrandt has more leeway because he’s a former world champion, but the failed flyweight experiment has left him with two consecutive losses against Kai Kara-France and Rob Font.
On the other hand, Jones had a lightning-fast start to his UFC tenure, defeating Timur Valiev, now a no-contest, and Mario Bautista. Since then, ‘5 Star’ has lost three consecutive fights. To be fair, ‘No Love’ is far less likely to be cut, but both fighters desperately need a win to get back on track.
Garbrandt vs. Jones is joining a stacked UFC 285 fight card, headlined by Jon Jones and Ciryl Gane competing for the vacant heavyweight world championship. In the co-main event, Valentina Shevchenko looks to continue her dominance in the UFC women’s flyweight division by taking out Alexa Grasso. The event goes down inside the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.