Torn Bicep Ejects Cody Garbrandt from UFC 255 Title Fight, Alex Perez Steps In

Ahah thank you brother, fuckin tore my bicep on Monday. Title shot in 2021.

— Cody Garbrandt (@Cody_Nolove) October 2, 2020

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A November Ultimate Fighting Championship title fight has undergone a significant change.

On Friday morning, Combate first reported that Cody Garbrandt (12-3) has been forced to pull out of his UFC 255 flyweight championship bout against Deiveson Figueiredo (19-1). A torn bicep the reason for Garbrandt’s withdrawal, although “No Love” confirmed his withdrawal and asked for a December date, the promotion elected to replace him. Facing Figueiredo will be Alex Perez (24-5), who was already booked on the card against Brandon Moreno.

Garbrandt snapped a three-fight knockout loss skid by laying waste to Raphael Assuncao in June with one punch. The former bantamweight champ began his career at a perfect 11-0, winning the belt against Dominick Cruz in only his second decision victory. Two championship losses to T.J. Dillashaw sent Garbrandt tumbling down the ladder, and a subsequent setback to Pedro Munhoz pushed him further down. The win over Assuncao, like most of his his other bouts, came at bantamweight. The fight against Figueiredo was to have been his flyweight debut.

Figueiredo has been a man possessed the last year, finishing Tim Elliott and Joseph Benavidez twice since October 2019. The first meeting with Benavidez in February, “Daico” showed it was no fluke by putting Benavidez to sleep with a rear-naked choke in July. With that finish, the flyweight king boosted his stoppage rate to a spectacular 84 percent, and tied Benavidez for the second-most finishes (six) for all bouts set at flyweight in UFC history.

Perez will be getting a crack at the belt on the heels of a three-fight win streak, where he most recently became the first flyweight to earn a leg kick stoppage by battering Jussier Formiga’s legs at UFC 250. In his last 12 outings dating back to 2016, Perez has lost just once, to Benavidez at The Ultimate Fighter 28 Finale in 2018. Perez will be the first fighter from Dana White's Contender Series to get a UFC title shot.

UFC 255 takes place on Nov. 21 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, where it will presumably still be headlined by Figueiredo vs. Perez for flyweight gold. The co-headliner also a flyweight championship affair, Valentina Shevchenko defends her throne against Jennifer Maia. The main card will also see a rematch between Mauricio Rua and Paul Craig at light heavyweight, while welterweights Robbie Lawler and Mike Perry will toe the line that night as well.