Cody Garbrandt is dealing with more injury woes, which will put him under the knife.

Garbrandt (11-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC), the former UFC bantamweight champion, suffered a torn tendon that will keep him out of action for the rest of the year.

“No Love” sustained the injury in a training session last week, and his manager, Ali Abdelaziz, confirmed in a text message to MMA Junkie that surgery has been scheduled. It’s unclear which tendon specifically that Garbrandt tore.

This comes on the heels of Garbrandt revealing he was cleared for a return from a hand and wrist injury. The early timeline has Garbrandt, who hasn’t competed since a first-round knockout loss to Pedro Munhoz in March, seeking a return to the octagon in the first quarter of 2020.

In recent years Garbrandt has navigated through a back injury and a broken hand. Now this latest injury can be added to the list.

Garbrandt has lost three fights in a row after starting his career 11-0.

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Without a doubt, one of the most intriguing matchups at UFC 241 on Saturday night is the main-card middleweight showdown between contenders Yoel Romero and Paulo Costa.

And not just because it features two of the best physiques, although there’s that, too. Olympic wrestling silver medalist Romero (13-3 MMA, 9-2 UFC) has long been one of the very best competitors at 185 pounds. Costa (12-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC) has 12 fights and 12 victories via finish inside of two rounds.

Can the 42-year old Romero hold off the young lion? Can Costa adapt if the fight goes into the third round against the toughest opponent of his career?

MMA Junkie’s John Morgan and Dan Tom break down everything you can possibly expect when Romero and Costa square off.

Check out their breakdown of the fight in the video above.

UFC 241 takes place at Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and UFC Fight Pass/ESPN+.

It’s been a long road for interim UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya used the UFC 243 press conference to reflect on how far he’s come.

To an outside fan, it appears that Adesanya (17-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) has just started his journey, as he only joined the UFC roster in early 2018.

But what he’s done in that short period of time is nothing short of remarkable, as he recalled, less than four years ago, sitting all the way in the back to watch UFC 193 at Etihad Stadium in Melbourne, Australia.

“Like I said, I was there back then when it happened, when the biggest show was in Australia,” Adesanya said at the press conference Wednesday at Deakin Edge in Melbourne. “We were way back there in the nosebleeds, I talked about this before I got in the UFC. Even he (Whittaker) fought on that card, I didn’t remember who he fought, I remember Mark Hunt knocked out Bigfoot part 2. I was back there in the nose bleeds but this time I’m going to be front and center, making nose bleeds.”

UFC 193 was headlined by Ronda Rousey vs. Holly Holm, a famous moment when Holm shocked the world by knocking out the previously unbeaten Rousey in the second round, to become the new bantamweight champion. It was the most-attended event in UFC history, a record of 56,214 fans.

UFC 243, which will take place in the brand new Marvel Stadium, is expected to break the previous attendance record set at UFC 193.

This time, it will be headlined by Australia’s own UFC middleweight champion, Robert Whittaker (20-4 MMA, 11-2 UFC), and New Zealand’s interim middleweight champion Adesanya.

“I remember, I was in the nosebleeds, and I remember the feeling of that arena,” Adesanya said. “They had to have people from outside headline the card and stack the card up and it was a great card but now, we’re stacking this up from people of our own side of the world. That shows you that it’s striving. They’re sleeping on us down under and I think we can sell this out fast. We’ve got two guys from this side of the world. We’ve got the rivalry between Aussies and Kiwis, it started out with pavlova and it’s not going to end here. I guarantee you that.”

The “Stylebender” had a prolific kickboxing career, notching 75 wins, and has competed all over the world during his combat sports tenure. He has earned five performance bonuses in the six times he’s competed in the UFC, on route to a masterful performance over the tough and gritty Kelvin Gastelum at UFC 236, capturing the interim middleweight title.

And he prides himself on staying active. Adesanya has competed four times since Whittaker last stepped into the cage, when he defeated Yoel Romero at UFC 225.

“I’m a guy who stays active,” Adesanya said. “Even before I got in the UFC, there was a time, for a long time I was fighting all over the world. At one point, I had over 20 fights in a year in China. The Chinese, they brought me on, they brought me in as a journeyman. So I was there to be whooped on by there people but then  they realized, oh can’t beat him, have him join us and I fought over 20 times. Fought smart, fought healthy and I did the same thing in the UFC.

“Six fights in 14 months and something that he alluded to was ah, these fights might be wearing on him. He’s not wrong, fight’s easy for me but training itself, through the grind everyday. Everyday going in, day in and day out, rest days, still going on days that you don’t want to go, that wears on the body and on the mind.”

“But like him, now I’ve had a holiday, I’ve been chilling. Right now I feel the best that I’ve ever felt as well so the best man will win.”