Cody Garbrandt witnessed a terrible loss at UFC 300, as Deiveson Figueiredo caught him in an inescapable rear-naked choke in the second round. This was even worse than it looked because ‘No Love’ injured his neck prior to UFC 285. There was a nerve blockage in his neck that prevented him from making extensive movements. Of course, with time, injuries heal. But the loss against ‘Dues de Guerra’ pushed him out of action for 14 months. 

The former bantamweight champion was planning to make a return long before UFC Atlanta. Back in October and November 2024, the 33-year-old mixed martial artist was slated to land against Miles Johns. However, he had to withdraw from the matchup for undisclosed reasons. This pullout left Johns without an opponent and garnered quite a bit of attention toward Garbrandt. 

But that’s a thing of the past. Garbrandt is now set to make a return and take on Raoni Barcelos at UFC Atlanta on June 14, 2025. MMA Junkie decided to share the news with the fighting community through their Instagram profile. In the caption, they wrote, “Cody Garbrandt returns after 14 months to take on Raoni Barcelos.” One would expect that the return of a fan favorite like Cody ‘No love’ would be celebrated with fanfare. But the sentiments were a little different this time.

As soon as the post went live, fight fans swooped to the comments section to reveal their thoughts. But their opinions were divided to say the least.

Can Cody Garbrandt finally make a comeback? Fans debate

Most of the fans seemed to believe that Cody Garbrandt was going to claim the win and fight for the belt next. The Ohio-born fighter has already tasted the sweetness of the bantamweight championship title when he defeated Dominick Cruz at UFC 207. However, he lost the belt in the very next fight. Nevertheless, the fans hoped for the best. One fan commented, “Cody title run starts now.” Another fan added, “Cody championship run begins.” Meanwhile, many others expressed nothing but concern for ‘No Love’. One such comment read, “I just want Cody from the Cruz fight to come back 😢.”

Some of the fans predicted the outcome of the UFC Atlanta return. The fan wrote, “Cody is going to absolutely knock barcelos out watch😂.” However, many others believed otherwise. After all, the former bantamweight champion was currently on a fall, with 3 our of his last 5 fights ending up in defeats. One fan commented, “And Cody gets held down for 3 rounds, don’t do it.” Another fan added, “Not a good matchup for Cody, I think Barcelos will wrestle him for 3 rounds and clinch.” Some of the fans even claimed that ‘No Love’ had a weak jaw. One of them wrote, “Cody is going to sleep again 😂glass jaw😂.”

However, a few of the fans claimed that Garbrandt would pull out just like he did in his past matchups against Johns. One fan wrote, “I’ve got Cody by pulling out 2 weeks before the fight.” Furthermore, a few others claimed that his career in the UFC was over, suggesting a move to BKFC. The comment read, “Cody just needs to go to BKFC already, there’s nothing for him in the UFC.”

What do you think of the fight between Cody Garbrandt and Raoni Barcelos? Who do you think would win? Will ‘No Love’ actually get to fight for the bantamweight championship title again? Let us know what you think in the comments down below.