Heading into his UFC debut in January 2015, Cody Garbrandt had a certain gleam to him. His Team Alpha Male training partners had been chatting up this kid from Ohio, and there was much enthusiasm around Vegas to wheel his name in parlays. When he got rid of a few jitters and settled into his fight with Marcus Brimage, we caught more than a glimpse of his range and style, the speed and striking accuracy, the sublime boxing ability that his teammates boasted of, and the charismatic way in which he handled himself.
Garbrandt finished Brimage in the third round that night at UFC 182, and dedicated his win to young Maddux Maple, a Leukemia survivor who inspired him to such heights.