Before UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz trade blows against challenger Cody Garbrandt at UFC 207 on Dec. 30 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, the pair already had heated exchanges outside of the Octagon. Just recently, undefeated prospect Garbrandt walked out on Cruz during one of their interviews together.
In their head-to-head interview, the participants of the UFC 207 co-main event were placed in different rooms to avoid any form of altercation, MMA Fighting reported. Security was also placed in both of the rooms as a preventive measure to avoid this type of incident between the fighters.
However, things took a turn for the worse when tensions built and the challenger stormed off and threatened to go into the room, which housed Cruz. While the interview was intense from the get-go, a certain topic triggered Garbrandt's reaction.
The challenger reached his boiling point when the champion chose to make comments about the former's girlfriend. He also commented on the photos that Garbrandt's partner posts on her Instagram page.
"She shouldn't be hollering at me on social media," the bantamweight champion said in the interview with Canada's Fight Network. "Keep her to yourself. As far as I'm concerned, I did you and her a favor. She obviously wears the pants in the relationship or else she wouldn't be having to defend you," he added.
It also did not help that Cruz further provoked the man who will we be trading blows with come Dec. 30. After Garbrandt told Cruz that he will go to the room where Cruz is being interviewed immediately and have a go at him, Cruz added fuel to the fire by stating "C'mon, turd. Let's go."
Once Garbrandt got his microphone off, he stormed outside the room apparently in search of the champion. Cruz stayed on camera the entire time this unfolded and continued to mock his challenger at UFC 207.
"He has to do this, because this is what an alpha, a savage does," Cruz said, after stating that he could hear Garbrandt throwing things outside and causing a scene. Watch the interview reach its boiling point below.: