Canton, Ohio, the home of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, played host this weekend to one of the Northeast’s biggest local circuits, the North American Allied Fight Series (NAAFS). The Rock n Rumble 8 main card featured six pro fights, including a title fight between Cody No Love Garbrandt and Charles Stanford.
It was evident at 5:00 p.m. when the doors opened that the masses, draped in their Team No Love shirts, were showing up to see Ohio’s own Garbrandt. “No Love” a member of Urijah Faber’s exclusive Team Alpha Male out of Sacramento, California, entered the cage with a perfect 4-0 professional record, all by way of knockout.
Opponent Stanford was met with boos so loud they drowned out his entrance music. Garbrandt opened the first round showcasing the Bang Muay Thai fight system, then went on to demonstrate the wrestling takedowns that both he and Team Alpha Male are known for. Stanford scrambled up to his feet, and then Garbrandt reminded everyone why his nickname is No Love.
Garbrandt unleashed a fury of strikes that put Stanford back on his heels and drilled him to the cage. The ref stopped it at 1:37 of round 1.
In a post-fight interview, Alpha Male captain Urijah Faber related how “No Love” came to join the team.
When he was 18, he hit me up on Twitter,” said Faber. “He said ‘Mark my words, I’m going to be out training with Team Alpha Male and Urijah Faber soon,’ or something like that, and for whatever reason it caught my eye. And I went and looked at all of his stuff, I looked at his wrestling, his boxing, and I just responded to him. I said ‘Hey I watched your stuff, you look really tough, and I look forward to having you out at camp.’”
That was 4 years ago.
Over time Garbrandt saved the funds get out to Sacramento to make good on his word. Faber went on to say that he really liked [Garbrandt’s] attitude, his work ethic, and his skill set. And he made it something he wanted to do—be a part of the team.
Image courtesy of Michael Fuoco.
