Cody Garbrandt isn’t just a name on a UFC fight card, he’s a product of grit, loss, and deep personal conviction. Born in a small Ohio town, his journey to the top was anything but easy. Raised by a single mother and surrounded by struggle, every step forward felt like a fight. While fans know him for knockouts and comebacks, few know the story of where he came from or what he believes in when the cage lights go out.
What shaped ‘No Love’? What are his roots, his beliefs, and the people who shaped him? Let’s take a closer look!
What is Cody Garbrandt’s ethnicity and nationality?
Cody Garbrandt is an American through and through as he was born and raised in Uhrichsville, Ohio. His ethnicity is predominantly Caucasian, with deep roots in rural America. His upbringing in Uhrichsville painted a picture of small-town life. With a population just over 5,000, most young men didn’t dream big, they followed the same road to the coal mines.
In an interview with UFC.com, he confessed, “My family was a bunch of coal miners, my grandfather, my uncles, my brother, and I got called up. I did my coal mine certification and I got called up to Consol Energy to go get an interview.”
But Cody Garbrandt always saw a different path. Fighting wasn’t just a sport for him, it was an escape. His father, a d— addict, spent most of his life in prison. His parents split up when Cody was just nine months old after a domestic violence incident. He was later adopted by his mom’s ex-husband at age ten.
Despite the chaos, his mother Jessica was a rock in his life. She kept the family together. And when Cody Garbrandt asked her to believe in his dream , she did. Years later, that dream came true, far from the Ohio mines and far beyond what anyone expected as he claimed the bantamweight title from Dominick Cruz at UFC 207.
‘No Love’ later revealed, “We were at the MGM, and I said, ‘Remember, mom, I told you that by 25, I’d be a world champion?’ She’s like, ‘You did.’ We had a big hug, cried a little bit and it was great.”
But beyond his mother, Cody Garbrandt has also found his guiding light in his faith and the strength he draws from it. After all, if it wasn’t for his beliefs, he may not be here right now!
Is ‘No Love’ a Christian?
Cody Garbrandt is a Christian, and his faith has been his lifeline. In a 2018 video for the nonprofit I Am Second, Garbrandt opened up about a time when he nearly ended his life. It was his older brother Zach who walked in, stopped him, and hugged him tightly. That moment changed everything. “That moment, that bond and that thing that we went through really, you know, brought us even closer. [We began] attending church services together. It was nice to be there with my big brother, worshipping God and growing towards Him.” he recalled
From there, the two brothers began attending church together, and slowly, Garbrandt’s connection to God deepened. According to him, “That was the start of a growing relationship with the Lord through going to the church, through reading different books about the Lord and just kind of growing my relationship with him on a spiritual level of speaking to him daily.”
For a fighter, the word “surrender” is strange. But for Cody Garbrandt, learning to let go wasn’t a weakness, it became his strength. He confessed, “There’s a time and place that you do need to surrender, and I’m always thankful that I’m able to surrender to Him.”
And surrendering to his faith gave him the clarity to move forward. So, let’s shift our focus over to learn more about ‘No Love’s early life.
More about Garbrandt’s early life and background
As mentioned above, Cody Garbrandt was born on July 7, 1991, in Uhrichsville, Ohio. He grew up in a tight-knit, working-class family with coal dust in its veins. Fighting, not mining, was the dream. Boxing first caught his eye when he was just four, trained by his uncle Robert Meese, an Olympic alternate.
Wrestling came next, guided by a concerned mother who feared that her boys would become ‘punch-drunk’. And at Claymont High School, the young ‘No Love’ became a state champion as a freshman in 2007.
His nickname? That also comes from his early days of training as a boxer under his uncle’s tutelage. In the past, Garbrandt had revealed, “The nickname ‘No Love’ was given to me by my uncle. He was my boxing trainer…I was in there sparring some of his pro-fighters he had and I was you know, knocking them around and he was you know hassling. ‘This kid’s a teenager and he’s showing you guys no love.’ And it just kind of stuck.”
March 4, 2023, Las Vegas, NV, LAS VEGAS, NV, USA: LAS VEGAS, NV – MARCH 4: R-L Cody Garbrandt battles Trevin Jones in their Bantamweight fight during the UFC 285 event at T-Mobile Arena on March 4, 2023 in Las Vegas, NV, USA. Las Vegas, NV USA – ZUMAp175 20230304_zsa_p175_188 Copyright: xLouisxGrassex
To wrap things up, from a troubled family history to a spiritual awakening that pulled him back from the edge, Cody Garbrandt’s journey reminds us that resilience isn’t built in the spotlight; it’s forged in silence.
Now, at UFC on ESPN 69, he’ll step into the Octagon to take on Raoni Barcelos. With his last fight at UFC 300 against Deiveson Figueiredo ending in a brutal submission loss, this is Garbrandt’s chance to remind the world, it’ll take more than that to slow him down!
The post Where Is Cody Garbrandt From? Ethnicity, Religion & Parents appeared first on EssentiallySports.
