EVERY SPOKEN WORD
150 min read · 30,010 words- 0:02 – 2:58
Austin plans and Cody’s mindset after the skid
- JRJoe Rogan
(drumming music plays) Joe Rogan podcast. Check it out. The Joe Rogan Experience. Train by day, Joe Rogan podcast by night. All day. (rock music plays) Hello, Cody.
- CGCody Garbrandt
What's going on, bro?
- JRJoe Rogan
Good to see you, brother. What's happening, man?
- CGCody Garbrandt
You too. Enjoying Austin.
- JRJoe Rogan
Yeah. So you're coming here?
- CGCody Garbrandt
Possibly.
- JRJoe Rogan
Are you letting ... Do people know? About-
- CGCody Garbrandt
Not yet.
- JRJoe Rogan
Did I blow the ... ?
- CGCody Garbrandt
Not yet, but I'll let 'em know. They're gonna know now.
- JRJoe Rogan
(laughs)
- CGCody Garbrandt
I think so. I mean, it's probably the, you know, move we spoke about earlier.
- JRJoe Rogan
Yeah.
- CGCody Garbrandt
But, uh, I've always loved Texas, like we spoke earlier. I, I got signed here to the UFC. Was on it for so many years. Came out here during fight, fight camps for a week, and kinda just unplugged but focused on training and had a good time out here. It was always, always a pleasure.
- JRJoe Rogan
Yeah, it's a beautiful place. Uh, I'm enjoying the shit out of it. Dude, first of all, congratulations on your comeback. Uh, that ... (sighs) You know, you're a great guy, and when there's someone I like who loses a bunch of fights in a row, and you get into this skid, it's ha- it's hard to watch. I can't imagine what it was like being you.
- CGCody Garbrandt
Mm-hmm.
- JRJoe Rogan
You know, to have a, a young child and to be dealing with all of this going o- ... I mean, it's like y- ... Losing your to- ... But then to come back the way you did, against a really fucking tough guy in Assuncao and get, arguably, the KO of the year. I mean, you gotta be feeling pretty fucking good.
- CGCody Garbrandt
I feel great, you know? Um-
- JRJoe Rogan
Back from the brink.
- CGCody Garbrandt
Back from the brinks. I mean, that time in my life, that timeframe and period and, and going through that f- ... You know, from on top of the world, world champion, uh, to three-fight skid, honestly it feels like a, a lifetime ago. I feel like I'm just a different person, um, where I, where I was at from there. You know, removed, and the things I'm just doing differently, thinking differently, you know, how I was able to approach the game, picking myself back up time and time again. I mean, (laughs) it's ... Internet is a horrible place to get, get knocked out on, you know? Especially-
- JRJoe Rogan
The internet's fucked. (laughs)
- CGCody Garbrandt
You got the trolls, this and that, you know? It's-
- JRJoe Rogan
Yeah.
- CGCody Garbrandt
But besides that point, you know, um, just coming back to that and having a love for it. A lot of the times I got to the fight and, um, not to make excuses, I was just ... I didn't feel myself. I didn't feel like, um ... In the training and leading up, I felt physically I'm always ready to fight. Like flip the switch, I'm always physically ready to fight. I think mentally, going into those fights, I was just, um, out of body. I wasn't ... Uh, I felt like I was going through the motions. You know, my passion wasn't there. I wasn't waking up every day like, "What's your reason why?" Like I was just trying to find that, and I think the reason why I w- had so many people, um, infiltrated in how I should train or how I should live or what I should do to get back there, and really it wasn't nothing that I needed to learn new. I didn't have to reinvent the wheel. It was just doing the Slight Edge Theory, like getting out of your comfort zone. Like you're doing your sauna sessions, like you're pushing yourself to go in there and, and just be uncomfortable. Um, you know? So I had to go out there and with that comeback, you know, I moved to Jersey, did training camp out there, and I split time between-
- 2:58 – 5:34
Rebuilding with Mark Henry: “codes,” structure, and safety-first coaching
- JRJoe Rogan
Yeah, I wanna talk to you about that.
- CGCody Garbrandt
You're talking now?
- JRJoe Rogan
I'm a big fan of Henry.
- CGCody Garbrandt
Dude.
- JRJoe Rogan
Mark Henry's a bad motherfucker.
- CGCody Garbrandt
H- he's great. I, I love ... I enjoy him so much, his passion for it, his love for it.
- JRJoe Rogan
He's so interesting too, his crazy codes.
- CGCody Garbrandt
Oh my gosh.
- JRJoe Rogan
And the fact the dude makes pizza on the side. (laughs)
- CGCody Garbrandt
Dude, I was so nervous going out there 'cause I heard of the codes and, and, like, you know, I was with Lance. So Lance would kinda give me a little insight on it, on, on everything. I'm like, "Damn, codes?" And I just fight, dude. Like I don't have really set things. I kinda go off of my instincts and, and game plans, and he was trying to, you know, brief me on it. When I got to the first two weeks, holy shit. We'd go down to his basement and he has, like, pizza scrolls from the pizzeria where we have off- ... About 50 things that we're working on, um, before camp. And then we-
- JRJoe Rogan
So what does he write 'em on boxes?
- CGCody Garbrandt
Pizza scrolls.
- JRJoe Rogan
Pizza boxes?
- CGCody Garbrandt
Pizza scrolls, like the just, uh, basically white paper and he-
- JRJoe Rogan
Oh. (laughs)
- CGCody Garbrandt
... rolls it down and then tapes it there to the wall. You have, like, Cory's fight camp. You have, you know, Frankie's and-
- JRJoe Rogan
Wow.
- CGCody Garbrandt
... he had all these codes. And you have ... You know, he's working with 14 fighters at one time.
- JRJoe Rogan
Yeah.
- CGCody Garbrandt
He knows all the codes.
- JRJoe Rogan
And all different kinds of fights too.
- CGCody Garbrandt
All different kinds of fights.
- JRJoe Rogan
Like he's got Zabit there, he's got Frankie.
- CGCody Garbrandt
Mm-hmm.
- JRJoe Rogan
It's like all these different styles.
- CGCody Garbrandt
Different styles, yeah.
- JRJoe Rogan
Yeah.
- CGCody Garbrandt
Different styles and we'll kind of ... You know, what I like about that is he'll try things that Zabit does. Zabit does these crazy double jump scissor kicks and-
- JRJoe Rogan
Yeah.
- CGCody Garbrandt
... spinning. You know, the Russians are really good at spinning shit. You know, so we threw that i- into the, into the game. And it, it's, it's ... You know, it was nice to get that kinda ... And then stuff that Frankie's done and had success over the years. Um, so we meshed that together. Um, he got to know me really well. Uh, we worked, you know, extensively with Ricardo Almeida up there as well. Um, but yeah, Coach Henry is just, uh, there's noth- ... He's obsessed with winning. But what I loved about him was the first thing that he said to me, um, was that his job is ... He's competitive. He wants to win at all costs, but his job is to get us back to our family. And, um, I watched your podcast with, uh, Andre Ward, and he said the same thing about his trainer.
- 5:34 – 9:00
Defense as the foundation: parallels to jiu-jitsu and training from bad positions
- JRJoe Rogan
It's such an important approach, to be defensively sound. And, and yet there's so many fighters who don't think like that at all. They just think about offense. And if you ... You know, it's, it's a really ... Like in jujitsu, like, Hicks and Gracie had a ... I had a conversation with him once about jujitsu, and one of the things that he said is that the most important thing is defense. He said, "Because I'm always safe." This is what he said. He goes, "I'm always safe."And he goes, "In every position, I'm always safe."
- CGCody Garbrandt
Sure.
- JRJoe Rogan
Like, he lets guys on his back with a fully locked in rear naked choke, and he'll start rolling like that.
- CGCody Garbrandt
Yeah.
- JRJoe Rogan
He, he's always safe. So he never... And that's interesting also, I read that about the Danaher death squad, John Danaher's guys, like, you know, Gordon Ryan and all those guys, they all start in really bad positions all the time. They train constantly in bad positions, so they're always defensively sound. And that makes sense with striking as well. So many guys are so concerned with offense. And, you know, you've had so many spectacular knockouts, like the Thomas Almeida fight-
- CGCody Garbrandt
Yeah.
- JRJoe Rogan
... that it's just, like, you probably just want to blast guys.
- CGCody Garbrandt
True. I get... I gotta, like, pull the reins-
- JRJoe Rogan
Yeah.
- CGCody Garbrandt
... back sometimes. I'm like, dude, I'm so amped up to just get in there and get to fight, you know. Like, forget the walk out, forget the, you know-
- JRJoe Rogan
Yeah.
- CGCody Garbrandt
I, I want to, I want to get the first blow. I want to get that exchange, and then that's when the fight unravels. Sometimes I think I get so amped up that, you know, taking it back, you know, doing that kind of... Having defensively sound sets up your offense.
- JRJoe Rogan
Yeah.
- CGCody Garbrandt
And my uncle was training me my whole entire life, and (laughs) this is what he said, "Your offense sets up your defense and vice versa." But okay, like, my offense was so good, and then you get to this point where your people are breaking down your footages and your films and, you know, your speed and power. You know, you have to have that... You have to be defensively sound if you're so offensive. I'm a, I'm a forward fighter.
- JRJoe Rogan
Mm-hmm.
- CGCody Garbrandt
I can fight going back. A lot of fighters can't go. I can feel I can fight positional. Um, like you said about Danaher's guys, Chris Holdsworth, um, has adapted into a phenomenal coach. You know, he's my right-hand guy from martial artists to the tee, and he makes us start in horrible positions like that when we're dog dead tired, and then get up and we're shadow sparring each other and then going back to the ground. Like, really fight simulated things to where you're feeling uncomfortable in those positions. Like, yeah, I can go in there and, and knee wrestle all day during jujitsu and I didn't get tapped out. I didn't tap anybody. I was safe, but I didn't put myself in those positions when the fight really happens, you have to see how, you know, your grit. You gotta be able to fight off the hands, fight off the body, try and go fight out of those bad positions so you're comfortable wherever the fight goes. And I feel like that's where I'm at now. I've transitioned into that fighter. I was so green when I got to Alpha Male, and, and a lot of my speed and power catapulted me to the top where I have to kind of draw back a little bit and do the correctional errors. Not reinventing, not new things, but the defensive part of things. Like, you know, I was up and training in Jersey and I knew I had the good head slips and movements, but some of the slips... Coach was watching me and I would get caught on the, you know... Not the first or second, I usually would get hit with the fourth punch, you know, like a combo puncher. So I would slip, slip, and then I would slip down this way and I would get hit with the, the jab, like, every time. He's like, "Dude, just bring your hand up a little bit when you're slipping to the right, or moving to the right." And I... You know, he's like, "How you feel after sparring?" I'm like, "Dude, I feel great. I don't have a headache." (laughs) I'm not getting my ass kicked. Like, I'm not getting hit really. And, like, my defense has gotten so, um, solid working with him and just constantly. And, and Chris is the same way and my coaches out in Alpha Male are the same with hands up, hands up, hands up. But I was just, at that point in my life, I was just so aggressive and angry.
- JRJoe Rogan
Yeah.
- CGCody Garbrandt
And, and just-
- JRJoe Rogan
Well, you had so much success-
- CGCody Garbrandt
Argh.
- JRJoe Rogan
... atta- attacking that way too.
- 9:00 – 10:48
Breaking down the Assunção KO: feints, timing, and the walk-off moment
- CGCody Garbrandt
At, at doing that. But this last fight, I was honestly... Joe, when I was, you know, doing those feints on Assuncao and Coach Henry said, "Hey, don't feel like these feints aren't gonna work. Like, he's defensively sound. He's a great fighter at, at that respect. Keep doing these feints. They will work." I'm feinting this guy, dude. I'm feinting, I'm feinting. He's not really biting. He's not really coming in. But I kept on the feints and we... You know, I started catching him with some, some shots that I saw in his eyes were hurting him, and then feinted, did the Tyson two, was overhand right, dropped him. And I knew once I had that range and the power and speed in his timing that he would come in with something. So, uh, you know, .......................... Yeah.
- JRJoe Rogan
That, the KO, the way you did it, where you dropped your hands and looked to the side and waited for him to move, oh my god, that was like one of the best walk off KOs ever.
- CGCody Garbrandt
Ah, it felt great, because the first round, I kind of had myself to the cage and coach... Man, he, he'd probably kick my ass being on the cage, like, "Get off the cage. Get to the, you know, movement more. We're movement fighters." You know, he made me. Um, and I know my back was against the cage, but I saw and, and the, the round was ending, but I saw Assuncao, like, "Oh, here's my opening."
- JRJoe Rogan
Mm-hmm.
- CGCody Garbrandt
I saw that in the first round and I... The second round I was staying off, I was moving, I was feinting, I was switched, you know, stances. Um, but towards the end of that I heard the clappers and I'm like, "All right, I'm back against the wall. Let, let him come in." I kind of leaned towards, and he kind of like feinted on it, and then he chased me down. When I level changed, I kept my eye on him, and he threw the hook because he was going southpaw. And, uh, I knew, like, I had the hand, my hand on the cage to know where my distance was to... He was coming with a kick after, I could lean back. Uh, I just had my range and my timing and-
- JRJoe Rogan
There it is right there.
- CGCody Garbrandt
... once I threw it, man, I knew when I felt it from the hip, it was, it was over.
- JRJoe Rogan
Dudes. (laughs)
- CGCody Garbrandt
Yeah. I know.
- JRJoe Rogan
And that, that guy is so fucking durable.
- CGCody Garbrandt
Mm-hmm.
- JRJoe Rogan
That's the thing. I mean, this guy is so tough and so, so durable. For you to catch him and KO him like this-
- CGCody Garbrandt
Yep.
- JRJoe Rogan
... that had to feel so good.
- CGCody Garbrandt
That was good, you know. Back against the wall, I mean, that was-
- JRJoe Rogan
Yeah.
- 10:48 – 14:45
Kidney infection scare: hidden cellulitis/staph and systemic risk in camp
- CGCody Garbrandt
... a pivotal point in my life. But I knew leading up to that, I needed to get in octagon. I kept... Like, hey, Sean, Dana, and then obviously in the beginning of the year, I had that kidney infection that landed me in the hospital. I had to remove myself from the fight.
- JRJoe Rogan
How did... What, what happened there?
- CGCody Garbrandt
Dude, I had the, um, I guess a staph or cellulitis that I didn't know. My shin was so sore for weeks. I would, you know, tape it with a knee pad, put a knee pad and tape it and spar and grapple, but there was no, like, infection, no nothing, no cut. Um-
- JRJoe Rogan
So you just thought it was a bruise?
- CGCody Garbrandt
I kicked, kicked this dude hella hard and I just thought that my leg was just bruised that bad. Like, you know, sometimes you hit your shins-
- JRJoe Rogan
Yeah.
- CGCody Garbrandt
... and, you know, um, caught an elbow maybe a knee, and I was transitioning back. I was in Jersey for a month, then I was back here for, in California for two weeks, then I was going back to Jersey and just training hard, you know, and, um, to where my body just started shutting down. Like, I remember telling Coach Mark after training one day, I'm like, "I'm just feeling horrible." Um, and then by that night, I kind of just started feeling really bad and started urinating blood, so I went to the hospital. And, uh, they checked everything out and like, "Oh, you're good." Like, the doctor came in, he's like, "Here's a surgeon's number. Like, you're gonna have to get your lymph nodes removed," because my lymph nodes were swollen so much in my groin. I couldn't even walk. I was, like, like, crawling in there.And, like, everything checked out. They did all these tests. I was there for like majority of the day.
- JRJoe Rogan
Why, why wouldn't they just remove them?
- CGCody Garbrandt
Just, that's what he said. And I'm like, "All right." So I was like, drove home, to J- um, dr- 'cause I drove there the first time, and then drove home. Chris is actually flying out for the week to help me train, and I was like, "Chris, bro, I don't feel good. Um, there's something going on." Like, you know, but I just had everything checked out, so I'm like, "I'm not gonna be a pussy and go back to the, to the hospital." But progressively during the night, it just became like towards just straight blood when I was this- was urinating. So I'm like, "This is not good." I couldn't eat. I had the cold chills. Went back, Ubered back to the hospital. And, um, they admitted me and I had a ki- really bad kidney infection from, um, (clicks tongue) I guess cellulitis. That was in my leg.
- JRJoe Rogan
So how did they find out that you have a really bad kidney infection? Did they do it-
- CGCody Garbrandt
I did-
- JRJoe Rogan
... for a blood test?
- CGCody Garbrandt
I did blood cultures. I was doing... I did probably 26 labs. I was in the hospital for... They didn't know why I was c- what was caused from it. Um, I had a team full, a team of doctors, surgeons, um, you know, uh, s- infectious disease doctors, like, all these, like, trying to do these tests. And, and, like, we didn't know what was going on. And then they gave me antibiotic and I was on, hip-ho- hooked up to penicillin for six days, an IV the whole time.
- JRJoe Rogan
Jesus.
- CGCody Garbrandt
Like, it was the first few days in the hospital, dude, I couldn't eat. I couldn't even urinate myself. The l- the lady had to hold the bucket to where I was jus-
- JRJoe Rogan
Oh.
- CGCody Garbrandt
I was just dying. I think I was training myself. You know, it wasn't a diet thing, you know. I was eating right, correct, taking supplements, like, just training hard and then I guess I just trained my body to-
- JRJoe Rogan
Well, if you get s- that's the thing about people that get sick while they're training. Like, people that are in... Like, if you're in fight camp, your body is... You're, you're constantly breaking yourself down. That's why guys get sick all the time in training.
- CGCody Garbrandt
For sure.
- JRJoe Rogan
'Cause you're so tired all-
- CGCody Garbrandt
Mm-hmm.
- JRJoe Rogan
You train so hard. If you get sick, bad, while that's happening, you can get really fucked up. And there are so many guys out there running around with staph infections that don't know they have them.
- CGCody Garbrandt
Mm-hmm.
- JRJoe Rogan
I've seen guys at the gym and they have, like, this little thing on their arm, and then someone's gotta say, "Hey, dude, have you got that checked out?"
- CGCody Garbrandt
Right.
- JRJoe Rogan
Like, "That thing looks like a big boil. Like, you got staph, bro."
- CGCody Garbrandt
Right.
- JRJoe Rogan
And they're like, "Is that staph?"
- CGCody Garbrandt
(laughs) Right.
- JRJoe Rogan
"Is that, did that, is that s-"
- 14:45 – 15:57
Back injury and regenerative medicine: rehab, PT, and stem-cell talk
- JRJoe Rogan
You weren't visualizing then?
- CGCody Garbrandt
I wasn't. I mean, I ended up injuring myself in the fight with Cruz, with my knee, and then I ended up having the back procedure in Germany, um, leading up to the TJ fight. It took me out a whole year.
- JRJoe Rogan
Did you get that Regenakene stuff? Yep.
- CGCody Garbrandt
Yep, I did. And it, and it worked. And there's shelf lives of it. You know, I still feel, um... I learned a lot, like, doing obviously yoga, PT. You know, as much as I'm training, I'm still doing five days a week of PT, you know, and, and, and mobility work.
- JRJoe Rogan
For your back?
- CGCody Garbrandt
For my, just-
- JRJoe Rogan
Yeah.
- CGCody Garbrandt
... overall mobility.
- JRJoe Rogan
What was the exact extent of the injury?
- CGCody Garbrandt
It was an annular tear, um, in my-
- JRJoe Rogan
Of the disc?
- CGCody Garbrandt
Of the disc, yeah. So it was kinda just protruding. It was just hitting that sciatic nerve and-
- JRJoe Rogan
Mm. Yeah.
- CGCody Garbrandt
... just locking up.
- JRJoe Rogan
They're doing stem cells in discs now, and th- they're having great results from that.
- CGCody Garbrandt
I have to check it out.
- JRJoe Rogan
You know, I know a dude who had severe sciatic pain and a, a dropped foot. Like, his foot was, like, going numb and, and he got it completely fixed with stem cells.
- CGCody Garbrandt
Wow. That's great.
- JRJoe Rogan
Yeah. Regenerative medicine is the future, man. It's really fascinating stuff.
- CGCody Garbrandt
Um, part of it's pulling from your own self to heal you and mix with some other stuff?
- JRJoe Rogan
Yeah, some of it. And some of it they're doing from umbilical cords.
- CGCody Garbrandt
Mm-hmm.
- JRJoe Rogan
When a, a young, like if a young woman gives birth, uh, they, they take the umbilical cord and they make stem cells out of the umbilical cord.
- CGCody Garbrandt
Nice. Yeah, that's great. I'm-
- JRJoe Rogan
Yeah.
- CGCody Garbrandt
... I'm all for it. (laughs)
- 15:57 – 24:18
Visualization, “slight edge,” and leaving comfort zones to reignite hunger
- JRJoe Rogan
Dude, it's, uh, it's incredible stuff. But, so you w- you, you, you... Ta- talk to me about the visualization stuff. So this was something that you had concentrated on earlier in your career?
- CGCody Garbrandt
Really, my whole entire life without knowing what law of attraction was and, and having these, you know, people teach me this kind of stuff. I remember writing on my planner in, in grade school, in, in c- junior high and high school, like, I was gonna be a state champion. You know, that's what I wanted to be. You know, our mom always gave us Christmas presents at the Jerome Schottenstein Center to go watch the state wrestling tournament in Ohio. And everybody knows the Ohio State Tournament is... You know, you beat a state champion in Ohio, you're, you're elite in, in the nation.
- JRJoe Rogan
Mm-hmm.
- CGCody Garbrandt
It's, it's a tough state. So that's what we were... You know, our first sport we fell in love with was wrestling. We, we traveled all over, uh, once our mom, you know, put us in it. Traveled around the country packed in her minivan, driving to all kinds of... You know, Iowa, Maryland, Florida, just, that's what we did every weekend, you know. It's what we, uh, enjoyed to do. So I started visualization there with, you know... I saw the announcer's name, you know, hearing that.
- JRJoe Rogan
So this is just in your... Like, you were almost-
- CGCody Garbrandt
In my mind.
- JRJoe Rogan
... like just daydreaming?
- CGCody Garbrandt
Just daydreaming, yeah. Yeah.
- JRJoe Rogan
Just thinking about what you want.
- CGCody Garbrandt
Yeah. Not paying attention in school, like writing it down. (laughs)
- JRJoe Rogan
But not like a, not like a form, like, like a formula. Not like a-
- CGCody Garbrandt
I didn't really know a formula.
- JRJoe Rogan
... formal style t-
- CGCody Garbrandt
Yeah, just I would write down my weight class-
- JRJoe Rogan
Mm-hmm.
- CGCody Garbrandt
... my name, what high school I was representing, and I would just r- read that when I was in school and read it over and over again. And I would hear the, the guy, the announcer's name at the Jerome Schottenstein. He had a distinguished voice. And, you know, "Freshman, you know, Cody Garbrandt from New Yorksville, Claymont," you know, "to match two," like, "you're running out." I'm like, it's seeing you wrestle in front of 22,000 people.
- JRJoe Rogan
So you just think about it in your head?
- CGCody Garbrandt
Just, yeah, manifest it. So I was like, "I'm gonna be a state champion my freshman year." And I did it. And I think if, like, anything that I visualized like that and really put myself in those kind of uncomfortable positions now, like, I wanna be a royal champion. And to be a royal champion, you have to put yourself through some misery, some, some straight pain to get, you know... Your goal is to be at the top, 'cause everyone's going to... Everyone's fast, everyone's tough, everyone's strong. It's like that slight edge theory. Like, what are you gonna do that they're not going to do?
- JRJoe Rogan
Right.
- CGCody Garbrandt
And I think, you know, you know, going back to the three-fight skid, going to Jersey, I needed to get out of my comfort zone.
- JRJoe Rogan
Right.
- CGCody Garbrandt
I had to... I'd never been away from my son more than a week, you know. Like-I had to go and, and, and reward myself with coming back to my family, coming back to my son after being away and dedicating myself to this, you know, this life that I chose to do. But, you know, rewarding myself with a win, coming back, enjoying my son. Um, so every time I was away from him, I'm like, "This is, this is my deposit. This is my deposit to get back to my son, to have these good times, uh, h- have, make a great future for him." Things that I didn't have. You know, I'm fighting for him, you know, and, and things for his future, good schooling, um, (clicks tongue) you know, things like that. So getting out of that comfort zone, going to Jersey in the dead of winter from California, uh-
- JRJoe Rogan
Yeah.
- CGCody Garbrandt
... is not... You know what I mean?
- JRJoe Rogan
(laughs)
- CGCody Garbrandt
New, new training partners. You know what I mean?
- JRJoe Rogan
Mm-hmm.
- CGCody Garbrandt
Like, dude, I feel like once you're a champion, like, you have that X on your back. Like, everyone wants your best and everyone's gonna give you their best. And I'm all for that. I'm, hell yeah, let's, let's, you know, let's do it. And so having those new guys on you, trying to just, you know, earn your respect. And I had to go out there and have them earn my respect to be, "This kid is the real deal. This guy is the real deal. He's a real world champion. He's making himself come back." And, um, going out there, like Frankie Edgar, those guys are great. Eddie Alvarez, Ricardo Almeida, Coach Henry, uh, the whole top guys in, in Jersey are kind of... We laugh and joke like they're the Team Alpha Male East Coast, basically. You know, we're such s- similar styles, wrestlers that are turning into strikers, and just the mentality of the, you know, hard work kind of, um, everyone, it's a co-op. Everyone's helping everyone out, like, "Oh, you're gonna, I'm gonna hold some pads with you." Like, Frankie was great. He came in and, and helped me out when there was only four or five people in the gym. He would give me sparring rounds and, uh, just a great dude, great camp to be with, and I needed that. I think I, I don't need cheerleaders, you know what I mean? But I need people that I respect that's gonna push me-
- JRJoe Rogan
Mm-hmm.
- CGCody Garbrandt
... that extra round to the next, uh, you know-
- 24:18 – 31:00
TJ Dillashaw rivalry: emotions, mental readiness, and the PED shadow
- JRJoe Rogan
Well, get, get back to the TJ fight, right? The, the two fights. Tho- Those, you were more emotionally invested in those fights than any fight you've ever had, right?
- CGCody Garbrandt
Definitely. And that's not me. I don't have to... Joe, I love to fight. I can fight in your studio right now. You know what I mean?
- JRJoe Rogan
(laughs)
- CGCody Garbrandt
I'll kick Jamie's ass, you know. (laughs) If, if, you know, uh, making fun of his pants.
- JRJoe Rogan
Hey.
- CGCody Garbrandt
Making fun of his pants earlier, you know.
- JRJoe Rogan
(laughs) Oh, wait. Oh, wait. 16? What's the game, team? 16? 16?
- CGCody Garbrandt
Same team, same team.
- JRJoe Rogan
(laughs)
- CGCody Garbrandt
Oh, yeah. So, I never... Like, for me to go in there and kind of have that, you know, just an example of-
- JRJoe Rogan
Right.
- CGCody Garbrandt
... "Oh," that. I don't need to do that.
- JRJoe Rogan
That you just want... Yeah.
- CGCody Garbrandt
Yeah, you know? And, you know, it was great. I was a world champion, felt like I had to defend it, a lot of other stuff, you know, the backstory of it and the injury coming off a year. I was just so, like I said, not mentally ready to go in there and fight that I physically was, like, overcompensating for it.
- JRJoe Rogan
The emotions that go into a fight with someone you don't like, it's always extremely difficult. But for you to go into a fight with someone you don't like, who you used to be tight with-
- CGCody Garbrandt
Right.
- JRJoe Rogan
... and used to train with-
- CGCody Garbrandt
Right.
- JRJoe Rogan
... that's got to be, like, doubly difficult.
- CGCody Garbrandt
It's not like I said I didn't, didn't like TJ. I don't agree with a lot of things that happened. Um, but that's so far in the past, I'm that, you know, past that. But yeah, definitely taking that in there, it was my, my, my mental state was not what it should have been to go in against a guy like TJ, you know. And we can fast-forward to where, you know, he got popped and this and that. TJ can be on that stuff. He can be on that stuff, and he still can't beat me when I'm focused and I'm, I'm mentally there, I'm in there, and I'm excited, you know. Like, I'm glad that he's coming back. He's got to prove to himself, you know. And that's a big fight for me to come back to, you know, in the future. There's, it's gonna, that's gonna happen, you know. And I feel like TJ caught me at a time where mentally I was not in the best state of mind to go in there and, and, and be a champion. And that's why that was taken from me. You know, I wasn't doing the right things, you know, the slight edge things.
- JRJoe Rogan
Mm-hmm.
- CGCody Garbrandt
I wasn't doing those. And, uh, you know, he capitalized, and, and I look back on it, I, I kept going back in those fights. And a little bit of insanity, you know, you gotta be insane to repeat the same thing, thinking a different outcome. And that's what I was doing in there. I was... I always train hard, I always prepare ready, but what was, what was... There wasn't nothing new that I needed to do. It was just the slight, slight edge things.
- JRJoe Rogan
Mm-hmm.
- CGCody Garbrandt
Little work this, work that, like. And looking back on it, it's, it's hindsight's 20/20 always in a fight. But, uh, I'm thankful for that. I have to feel like if I would have went off and defended the title, and I probably wouldn't have been as hungry and motivated as I am today. And that's gonna help me out for the next five years of my career, however long I want to fight for. You know, I always kind of break my life down into five, five-year increments. But, uh, I'm excited for it. I'm more hungry than ever, 'cause I know what it takes to get back to the top.
- JRJoe Rogan
So when you said that you stopped visualizing for a long time and now you're doing it again, are you doing it now in... Do, do you have, like, a, a rigid format? Do you have, like, a, a, do you have a, a disciplined format of visualization, or do you just spend time alone thinking about things? Like, how do you do it?
- CGCody Garbrandt
Um, yeah, I, I do a, do a format, write things out. I write out goals, three months, six months, a year, five years, what I want to accomplish, whether it's financial, whether it's, you know, athletic, whether it's personal growth, spiritual growth, family growth, things like that. So I try to prioritize, um, what I'm lacking or what's the lower grade that I give myself and try to focus more on that, so it's all balanced. I feel like I'm trying to balance my life more, as far as being... I grew up in chaos. You know, I feel like I can... I do well in that, but I'm at a different place in my life and what I want for my son and my future, I want to have that balance of you're not so 100% in this and, you know, lacking this. You know, I want to make sure it's kind of balanced across of my goals. But I feel like, you know, going back to talking about getting out of your comfort zone, like doing things that absolutely suck, and you got to mentally put yourself in that position to be like, "All right."
- JRJoe Rogan
Were you in your comfort zone when you were champion? Like, when you say getting out of your comfort zone, I know you trained hard.
- CGCody Garbrandt
Right.
- JRJoe Rogan
So, like, what is different?
- CGCody Garbrandt
I think that I, I removed myself after, um, winning the world title. I, I didn't feel like it was everything that I thought I was going to be.
- 31:00 – 31:56
Fighter pay realities, judging risk, and why camps beat up the body
- JRJoe Rogan
Do you like the extra money, the bonus b- thing? I, I f- I f- I don't even like win bonuses. I, uh, it drives me crazy.
- CGCody Garbrandt
I, uh...
- JRJoe Rogan
I feel like a fighter should get paid.
- CGCody Garbrandt
Yeah.
- JRJoe Rogan
Like, I don't think you are trying to win anymore if you get a bonus. You're a, a professional cage fighter. There's, there's... It doesn't make any sense to me.
- CGCody Garbrandt
There's only one time in my professional career that I didn't get my second check. And that shit sucked.
- JRJoe Rogan
Yeah.
- CGCody Garbrandt
I was, man, I was... Uh, 'cause you're banking on it. I mean, we've-
- JRJoe Rogan
Right.
- CGCody Garbrandt
... we make our money through our fights, you know? And luckily, we have some good sponsors if you're, you know, able to be sponsored by that.
- JRJoe Rogan
And-
- CGCody Garbrandt
But we fight, that's how we make our money, you know?
- JRJoe Rogan
And then there's bad decisions, which is even crazier.
- CGCody Garbrandt
(sighs) They're what I'm not trusting.
- JRJoe Rogan
So it's not just that a bad decision give you a loss, but it could cost you half of your paycheck. That's insane.
- CGCody Garbrandt
And we don't get to run it back next week.
- JRJoe Rogan
No.
- CGCody Garbrandt
We gotta recover. We might be banged up. Dude, that was my first time after the Sun Cao fight since the Cam Izagaki fight that I didn't get injured. I tore tendons and ligaments and-
- JRJoe Rogan
Mm-hmm.
- CGCody Garbrandt
... stem cell's out for eight weeks to, you know, re- and then-
- JRJoe Rogan
(laughs)
- CGCody Garbrandt
... you know?
- JRJoe Rogan
Yeah.
- 31:56 – 56:02
COVID ordeal: vertigo, pneumonia, months-long positivity, and blood clots
- CGCody Garbrandt
So I was like, man, I was back in the gym Monday, hungry to go, and then fucking COVID.
- JRJoe Rogan
Yeah.
- CGCody Garbrandt
Get COVID. Get title shot, I'm like, "I'm about to fight Figi at 25."
- JRJoe Rogan
And you got COVID bad, right? Were you, did you get COVID in the... Were you in the middle of training when you got it? Like, were you worn out?
- CGCody Garbrandt
Dude, dead. I was doing one training session, and actually I started the Whoop. And I was like, man, like my recovery score is 1% in the morning. My HRV was like 13.
- JRJoe Rogan
1%?
- CGCody Garbrandt
It was 1% for like a week. And I would only do one workout, and then I'd have to cancel on Chris and Milat, I'm like-
- JRJoe Rogan
1% is dead.
- CGCody Garbrandt
Dude, but I, but I-
- JRJoe Rogan
That's crazy.
- CGCody Garbrandt
But then I was like, you know, I'm just gonna go ride the bike, you know? I was getting on those bikes doing, you know, 50 to 100 mile rides and just suffering 'cause I had vertigo really bad, so I couldn't get in those uncompromised positions that-
- JRJoe Rogan
When did you start experiencing vertigo?
- CGCody Garbrandt
Vertigo was my first symptom of COVID, not knowing. And then I had that for go-
- JRJoe Rogan
Did you think it was head injury related or-
- CGCody Garbrandt
I thought, but I, my, uh, my doctor I went and saw, he's like, "Oh, it's a concussion." I'm like, "Dude, I didn't get hit hard in sparring. My fights, like I worked on defense a lot. Like I know, I would know if it was a concussive blow that gave me vertigo."
- JRJoe Rogan
Mm-hmm.
- CGCody Garbrandt
And, um...
- JRJoe Rogan
What, did you experience it after training? Did you experience it-
- CGCody Garbrandt
Honestly, it was during grappling. I was like grappling.
- JRJoe Rogan
You didn't like collide heads or anything?
- CGCody Garbrandt
Nope.
- JRJoe Rogan
Nothing?
- CGCody Garbrandt
Nope.
- JRJoe Rogan
Damn.
- CGCody Garbrandt
Just went into a scramble, and next thing you know, I was just like fighting the hands off and the whole room was spinning. And I was actually training with Uria, and I was like, "Man." He's like, "You all right?" I'm like, "What's going on?" I was like kinda like didn't wanna end it, end the round, so I just kinda like closed my eyes (laughs) and like held onto his hands so he wouldn't choke me, you know? He was, he was taking my back. So I was finished the round, and I was like, "Man, I just don't feel good." And I was nauseated for a few days. Um, so I went to my doctor, he was giving me like anti-nausea medicine that was making me so much more tired than I was 'cause I was fatigued from, from training. I was still trying to train through it. I was like, "I have a world title coming up in eight weeks. Like, I have to get down to 25." And my weight was good. Um, I wasn't restricting any calories or nothing.
- JRJoe Rogan
But you felt something was off with your body besides the vertigo?
- CGCody Garbrandt
Yeah, I felt... My body felt like I just was for, uh, three-week period when I was training and going, I didn't feel like myself at all, and just mental clarity was, was gone.
- JRJoe Rogan
So do you think during that time you had COVID the whole time?
- CGCody Garbrandt
I think so, you know?
- JRJoe Rogan
That is crazy. And th- that makes sense that it hit you so hard-
- 56:02 – 1:17:49
Training evolution: cycling cardio, back-saving strength work, and recovery tools
- JRJoe Rogan
Talk to me, talk to me about the cycling, because I think that's really interesting that you developed all this endurance from cycling. I mean, I mean, I go back to when Nick Diaz was in his prime, and one of the things that separated Nick from everybody was his elite cardio. That Nick, Nick has swam from Alcatraz five times.
- CGCody Garbrandt
Yeah, motherfucker's crazy.
- JRJoe Rogan
Maybe more since then. 'Cause I remember I said, "Twice once." And he corrected me. He goes, "Five times." (laughs) Like, oh shit-
- CGCody Garbrandt
I only did it one time.
- JRJoe Rogan
Five fucking time-
- CGCody Garbrandt
Shark-infested, yeah.
- JRJoe Rogan
That's shark-infested waters.
- CGCody Garbrandt
Yeah. Dude, I know, I would go to the beach and I'm all for it. My son loves the beach, always wants to go. I, I gotta have to see my feet in the water. I can't be out too far.
- JRJoe Rogan
Ah, gotta see my feet.
- CGCody Garbrandt
The, the, the wife, she's out there, she's Thai, so she's like, "Oh, I'm out in the deep end." But, uh, yeah, that world-class cardio-
- JRJoe Rogan
Mm-hmm.
- CGCody Garbrandt
... that's what I think separates it, like...
- JRJoe Rogan
Yeah, there's something about that, right? There's something about people that are-
- CGCody Garbrandt
The running, the swimming, the riding.
- JRJoe Rogan
Mm-hmm.
- CGCody Garbrandt
And I think 'cause you're so alone in yourself, you know, you're swimming, you're swimming. What are you doing in your, you're, you're on the bike, you're in your thoughts-
- JRJoe Rogan
You have to push yourself, yeah.
- CGCody Garbrandt
You're running, you're in your thoughts, you're pushing yourself.
- JRJoe Rogan
Yeah.
- CGCody Garbrandt
You know, and then you get into that, "Well, I've done defeated myself. I've done pushed myself past these limits where I wanna give in. Now I have another human that might have some will, that might give a little eye or body language that he doesn't want to be in here." Now you start getting that confidence.
- JRJoe Rogan
Mm-hmm.
- CGCody Garbrandt
And I feel like, for me, going into a fight is my confidence comes through my hard work, knowing that I left no, um, you know-
- JRJoe Rogan
Stone unturned.
- CGCody Garbrandt
... stone unturned. And I feel like that just al- it... But you have to be smart with it. Now I'm older.
- JRJoe Rogan
Are you gonna do that in all your future camps now?
- CGCody Garbrandt
(laughs) So I-
- JRJoe Rogan
Or leading up to it? It's 'cause it seems like it was very effective for you.
- CGCody Garbrandt
Yeah, I, I feel like I just did my, uh, VO2 testing and it was the highest it's ever been. And I'm, I feel like I'm, I have world-class cardio, especially when the rounds get deeper. I feel like I get better in the fight. As I get tired, I get sharper, I feel, when I'm, when I'm, you know-
- JRJoe Rogan
In great shape.
- CGCody Garbrandt
... putting the work in. In great shape, of course. Um, so definitely, I think I have to tailor my cycling or I'm not gonna be... 'Cause I have back problems, you know, I've had some back issues. Being in that bike for seven hours riding 100 and some miles in that crouched over position, like, it locks you up. Um-
Episode duration: 2:02:45
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