Not only are multiple belts on the line at UFC 217 but now it seems that stability for multiple divisions could be at stake as well.

On Wednesday, UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping teased the possibility of moving up to light heavyweight to challenge Daniel Cormier should he beat Georges St-Pierre at UFC 217, and now, according to his coach, bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt may be next.

Speaking on the Five Rounds podcast recently, Justin Buchholz, the head coach of Team Alpha Male, stated that with a win over rival T.J. Dillashaw at UFC 217, Garbrandt could be looking at dropping down to 125 pounds to challenge pound-for-pound kingpin Demetrious Johnson.

“For sure, [Cody] can do it right now. He’s real big and strong right now and he’s getting bigger so he’s gotta do it right now if he does go down. For sure, [Demetrious Johnson] is a fight that we would love to have but we’ll just see about getting his body down to 125 [pounds].”

Garbrandt has spent his entire career competing as a bantamweight, save one expedition up to the featherweight limit and a catchweight bout against Augusto Mendes who missed weight for their fight. The bantamweight champion has never made the 125-pound limit but Buchholz is confident that would be formulaic, saying it would be doable through sheer will power but easy with the resources now available.

“I’m confident that can happen. That’s nothing. I’ve seen a lot harder things than that. Cody can make that weight and keep his power and put the weight back on and go back to ‘35 at this point in his career, while he’s young. We know the dangers of switching weight classes and whatnot with Roy Jones Jr. and you can see the stuff with B.J. Penn. We know what we’re doing here. Everything’s a science now. You’ve got to be on top of your game so you can get the correct people and set the right systems in place. We can do it old school so that’s why I’m confident with all the new school stuff it’d be even easier.”

Johnson himself has previously said that he would be amenable to facing Garbrandt at either 125 pounds or moving up to challenge for the 135-pound belt if the UFC was interested. But Buchholz suggests it would actually be more appealing for Garbrandt to face Johnson on the P4P king’s home turf so they can try to stop history from being made. Johnson is currently tied with Anderson Silva for most title defenses in UFC history at 10 and he has the opportunity to break that record when he faces Ray Borg next week at UFC 216; there’s an asterisk though. Silva’s first scheduled title defense was supposed to be against Travis Lutter, but Lutter missed weight, making the bout a non-title affair. Silva still won leading some to consider the true record to be 11 title defenses; and Buchholz and Garbrandt seem to think stopping Johnson from doing that would be worth the weight cut.

“Just to do it because it’s a gangster move. At that point he’d be breaking Anderson Silva’s record so it would be for the people of Brazil. We’ll keep that record intact.”

Cody Garbrandt defends his UFC bantamweight title against T.J. Dillashaw at UFC 217 on Nov. 4 in Madison Square Garden.

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USADA. USADA says Cris Cyborg “fully complied” in recent controversial sampling.

Goals. Rory MacDonald says he wants Bellator gold in three divisions, including 205.

Comeback. Rashad Evans decides against retirement, will continue to fight.

VIDEO STEW

Savage KO.

DC interview.

Invicta’s top 25 finishes.

Chuck calling Chael an easy fight.

Mike Perry getting the Spears remix.

Joe arguing that MMA should be bareknuckle.

LISTEN UP

The MMA Circus. Anthony Smith interview.

Heavy Hands. UFC Japan recap plus a discussion on ringcraft.

MMA Mad. Teams up with MMA Dude Bro for fight discussions.

SOCIAL MEDIA BOUILLABAISSE

Confidence.

⚡️⚡️Breaking News⚡️⚡️



I'm definitely going to beat Overeem before Stipe but doesn't matter it's just one more fight #UFC218 #ThePredator pic.twitter.com/w300WpvYEp — Francis NGannou (@francis_ngannou) September 27, 2017

Chael can practically smell the money.

Chuck- Say when — Chael Sonnen (@ChaelSonnen) September 27, 2017

Cyborg.

Cat.

Been that long? Sheesh. I guess imma have to get my ass back in there. @ufc #workinprogress https://t.co/1TeWCLxyrg — Alpha Cat Zingano (@CatZingano) September 28, 2017

Hopefully just a joke.

I saw Mayhem Miller last night,was great until a swat team and a helicopter came right after he left ‍♂️ ‍♂️ — Rampage Jackson (@Rampage4real) September 27, 2017

Coker already signed her to a developmental deal.

DC putting Rockhold on blast.

Come on @lukerockhold all I want is to train man. Come on champ!!! A post shared by Daniel "DC" Cormier (@dc_mma) on Sep 27, 2017 at 12:18pm PDT

This is gonna go terribly for PVZ.

Snaps open. paigevanzant

Replying to the best ones. — Paige VanZant (@PaigeVanzantUFC) September 28, 2017

Conor has broken everything.

How do I go about getting a boxing fight? I can be ready for November/December! @GoldenBoyBoxing @trboxing @ShowtimeBoxing @WBCBoxing — Aljamain Sterling (@FunkMaster_UFC) September 27, 2017

Matchmaking.

The fans have spoken & I intend on listening @NeilMagny U choose D date #Dec2nd or #Dec30th I know you won’t run and hide like @RdosAnjosMMA pic.twitter.com/HvbIEQSh2q — KAMARU USMAN (@USMAN84kg) September 27, 2017

FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS

Andrea Lee (8-2) vs. Kalindra Faria (18-5-1); UFC 216, Oct. 7.

Paul Redmond (12-6) vs. Lukasz Chlewicki (14-6); KSW 40, Oct. 22.

Chris Fields (11-7-1) vs. Michal Fijalka (16-6-1); KSW 40, Oct. 22.

Ed Ruth (3-0) vs. Chris Dempsey (11-5); Bellator 186, Nov. 3.

A.J. McKee (9-0) vs. Jeremy Petley (11-8-1); Bellator 187, Nov. 10.

Charlie Ward (3-3) vs. John Redmond (7-12); Bellator 187, Nov. 10.

Francis Ngannou (10-1) vs. Alistair Overeem (43-15, 1 NC); UFC 218, Dec. 2.

Henry Cejudo (11-2) vs. Sergio Pettis (16-2); UFC 218, Dec. 2.

John Phillips (21-6) vs. Eryk Anders (9-0); UFC Fresno, Dec. 9.

Dominick Cruz (22-2) vs. Jimmie Rivera (21-1) ; UFC 219, Dec. 30.

Cynthia Calvillo (6-0) vs. Carla Esparza (12-4); UFC 219, Dec. 30.

TODAY IN MMA HISTORY

2001: One of the most infamous events in MMA history, UFC 33, took place. UFC 33 was the first MMA event sanctioned by Nevada under the Unified Rules of MMA and featured three title fights. All three fights, as well as the other two main card fights, went to decision, causing the event to run over its allotted PPV time slot and be cut off by many providers before the conclusion of the Tito Ortiz vs. Vladimir Matyushenko main event. This event is regularly referenced by Dana White as the UFC’s worst outing ever.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Not gonna lie y’all, I’m a little shocked by the result of yesterday’s poll. Oezdemir edged it out 49% to 45% over the Gustafsson rematch. I thought for sure Alex’s domination over Glover would make him the clear front runner but No Time’s pair of impressive KOs has really won people over. Too bad we probably will end up with DC vs. Bisping.

Anyway, take it easy everyone and see y’all tomorrow.

EXIT POLL

Poll If Garbrandt beats Dillashaw, who would you rather he fight next? This poll is closed. 39% Demetrious at flyweight (385 votes)

60% Winner of Cruz-Rivera (580 votes) 965 votes total Vote Now

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