5 reasons why Cody Garbrandt's move to 125lbs at UFC 269 may be a mistake

#4. Moving to 125lbs won’t fix Cody Garbrandt’s chin – it may make it worse

Cody Garbrandt's chin was arguably questionable at 135lbs

Another issue with the move could be the vulnerability of Cody Garbrandt's chin.

It’s a well-established idea within the UFC that fighters who embark on massive weight cuts to make a certain mark tend to have problems with their chin thereafter.

The science behind this idea suggests that a hefty weight cut can reduce the amount of fluid around the brain, making the fighter more susceptible to a knockout. We’ve seen the likes of James Vick and T.J. Dillashaw seemingly struggle in the octagon for this reason in the past.

That’s why Cody Garbrandt’s upcoming move to 125lbs is so worrying. Essentially, while he’s a genuinely excellent fighter, few fans would attempt to claim that ‘No Love’ has an iron chin.

During his career with the UFC, which dates back to early 2015, we’ve seen Cody Garbrandt knocked out on three occasions.

While there’s no shame in losing to Pedro Munhoz and T.J. Dillashaw via KO, it’s definitely arguable that Garbrandt was winning at least two of those three bouts before his chin betrayed him.

Adding in a large weight cut, then, may well make Garbrandt’s already questionable durability even worse.

Sure, you could argue that the UFC’s flyweight division doesn’t have as many concussive hitters as the bantamweight class, but there are plenty of 125lbers who are more than capable of knocking their foes out. Can Kai Kara-France knock Cody Garbrandt out this weekend? It’s debatable, as the New Zealand native has struggled to live up to his 'Don't Blink' moniker in the UFC.

If he can’t, though, someone like Deiveson Figueiredo or Alexandre Pantoja would certainly be capable of doing so, particularly if ‘No Love’ has a compromised jaw due to his weight cut.

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#3. The UFC flyweight division isn’t lacking in dangerous fighters

The UFC fltyweight division is full of dangerous fighters like Brandon Moreno and Deiveson Figueiredo

In a way, it does make sense for Cody Garbrandt to drop to 125lbs. ‘No Love’ was still rated as one of the best 135lbers in the world prior to his move, but his losses to T.J. Dillashaw, Pedro Munhoz and Rob Font had largely moved him out of title contention.

The UFC flyweight division, meanwhile, is less star-studded than the bantamweight class. So with one or two wins, ‘No Love’ could easily find himself in line for a shot at the title.

However, to suggest that there are fewer dangerous fighters at 125lbs would be an error. The division’s top two, champion Brandon Moreno and top contender Deiveson Figueiredo, are both remarkably dangerous in all areas.

The likes of Askar Askarov, Alexandre Pantoja and Alex Perez all have finishing skills in all areas, while up-and-comers such as Tagir Ulanbekov and David Dvorak are also highly dangerous too.

Kai Kara-France, who will welcome Garbrandt to the division this weekend, is a highly dangerous fighter in his own right, with a total of five UFC victories to his name. He might not be physically imposing, but he can definitely fight.

Essentially, then, if Cody Garbrandt thinks he can drop to 125lbs and walk all over the UFC’s best flyweights, he may well be mistaken. If anything, he might find the going there just as tricky as he did at 135lbs.