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Cody Garbrandt Calls Out Manny Pacquiao: 'I Would Love That Fight'

Kyle Newport

With a lot of talk about crossover MMA-boxing fights lately, UFC star Cody Garbrandt wants in.

Garbrandt recently told TMZ Sports he would welcome a bout with boxing star Manny Pacquiao:

"I would love that fight; yeah, I would love that," Garbrandt said.

Garbrandt is the UFC's top-ranked bantamweight fighter. The 27-year-old has an 11-2 record in the promotion.

However, Garbrandt has lost each of his last two fights. Both were to TJ Dillashaw, who defeated Garbrandt at both UFC 217 in November 2017 and UFC 227 in August. Neither clash lasted more than two rounds.

Garbrandt and his companions noted in the video that he has a "strong" boxing background, which would make him an ideal candidate for crossover fight. And few boxers carry more star power than Pacquiao.

The 39-year-old is 60-7-2 in his storied career and has won three of his past four matches. Most recently, he defeated Lucas Martin Matthysse via TKO in July.

Pacquiao has not responded to Garbrandt's challenge.

The most high-profile crossover bout came in August 2017 when boxing legend Floyd Mayweather Jr. (50-0) defeated UFC star Conor McGregor, who was making his debut in the ring. Mayweather and UFC fighter Khabib Nurmagomedov have recently talked about fighting each other.

   

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