"Clean and Unbeaten" - When Conor McGregor praised Cody Garbrandt despite bad blood with 'No Love'

Throughout his UFC career, Conor McGregor's brash trash talk and self-promotion have made him his fair share of enemies. However, in one of his rarer, more diplomatic moments, he actually showered bantamweight knockout artist, Cody Garbrandt, with praise, despite the pair's previous enmity.

Five years ago, Garbrandt tweeted out his frustrations about his sudden three-fight losing streak, which consisted of back-to-back knockout losses to former teammate T.J. Dillashaw and a TKO loss to Pedro Munhoz. 'No Love' made it a point to identify the two as fighters who had tested positive for PEDs.

This drew a response from McGregor, who praised Garbrandt for his loyalty to Team Alpha Male, specifically for daring to confront Dillashaw on his mentor's behalf, and for, at the time, never having lost to anyone who hadn't tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs.

"Respect Cody! The loyalty you showed for Urijah and your team on that faithful day in the TUF gym will forever stand out to me! Enjoy this moment and these returned victories to you! Clean and Unbeaten!"

Unfortunately, Garbrandt went on to suffer more losses. While the former UFC bantamweight champion managed a brief rebound by knocking out Raphael Assuncao, he subsequently suffered two more back-to-back losses, this time to Rob Font and Kai Kara-France, the latter of which occured at flyweight.

Currently, the 32-year-old is riding an impressive two-fight win streak, with a recent victory coming against Brian Kelleher in bantamweight division in December 2023.

Meanwhile, McGregor has since been accused of steroid use due to his significant gain in muscle mass since snapping his shin against Dustin Poirier. The rumors of his alleged PED usage were only magnified following his conflict with USADA.

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Conor McGregor and Cody Garbrant have several similarities

Both Conor McGregor and Cody Garbrandt are former UFC champions, with the Irishman having ruled over featherweight and lightweight, while 'No Love' was the bantamweight titleholder. Additionally, both men dethroned their division's respective GOATs when they captured their first UFC titles.

Third, they built their reputations as exciting knockout artists, but neither has ever successfully defended their titles. Both men also debuted against Marcus Brimage. More tragically, neither man is currently ranked in their respective divisions after going through rough patches. However, they are now hoping to turn things around.

'No Love' is scheduled to take on former UFC flyweight champion, Deiveson Figueiredo at UFC 300, while 'The Notorious' is aiming for an octagon return against three-time Bellator lightweight champion Michael Chandler in the summer.