Garbrandt vs Kelleher

Who won Garbrandt vs Kelleher?

Cody Garbrandt beat Brian Kelleher by knockout in the 1st round during the prelims of UFC 296, on Saturday 16th December 2023 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

The fight was scheduled to take place over 3 rounds in the Bantamweight division, which meant the weight limit was 135 pounds (9.6 stone or 61.2 KG).

Garbrandt vs Kelleher stats

Cody Garbrandt stepped into the octagon with a record of 13 wins, 5 losses and 0 draws, 10 of those wins coming by the way of knock out.

Brian Kelleher made his way to the cage with a record of 24 wins, 14 losses and 0 draws, 8 of those wins coming by knock out and 10 by submission.

This was Cody Garbrandt's 15th fight in the UFC, having made his debut for the promotion in 2015. Brian Kelleher marked his 17th fight for them, having made his own debut for the promotion in 2017.

Cody Garbrandt's UFC record stood at 9-6-0, while Brian Kelleher's came in at 8-9-0.

The stats suggested Garbrandt had a massive power advantage over Kelleher, boasting a 77% knock out percentage over Kelleher's 33%.

If the fight went to the ground, their records suggested Kelleher had a massive advantage over Garbrandt, boasting a 42% submission rate over Garbrandt's 0%.

Cody Garbrandt was the younger man by 5 years, at 33 years old.

Garbrandt had a height advantage of 2 inches over Kelleher. That also extended to a 1-inch reach advantage.

Garbrandt was the less experienced professional fighter, having had 20 fewer fights, and made his debut in 2012, 1 year and 9 months later than Kelleher, whose first professional fight was in 2011. He had fought 39 less professional rounds, 38 to Kelleher's 77.

Garbrandt vs Kelleher form

Brian Kelleher had beaten 3 of his last 5 opponents.

In his last fight leading up to this contest, he had lost to Umar Nurmagomedov at UFC 272 on 5th March 2022 by submission in the 1st round at T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, United States.

Previous to that, he had won against Kevin Croom at UFC Fight Night on 15th January 2022 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at UFC APEX, Las Vegas.

Going into that contest, he had beaten Domingo Pilarte at UFC Vegas 34 on 21st August 2021 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at UFC APEX, Enterprise.

Before that, he had been beaten by Ricky Simon at UFC 258 on 13th February 2021 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at UFC APEX, Las Vegas.

He had defeated Ray Rodriguez at UFC Vegas 9 on 5th September 2020 by submission in the 1st round at UFC APEX, Las Vegas.

Activity check

Garbrandt's last 3 fights had come over a period of 6 years and 11 months, meaning he had been fighting on average every 2 years, 3 months and 21 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 4 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 1.3 rounds on average.

Kelleher's last 5 fights had come over a period of 4 years and 29 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 9 months and 25 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 11 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 2.2 rounds on average.

What were the odds on Garbrandt vs Kelleher?

Cody Garbrandt was a 1/2 (-200) favourite going into the contest, while Brian Kelleher made his way into the ring at 17/10 (+170) with oddsmakers.