Cody Gibson hasn’t fought since 2018. Between injuries and the pandemic, activity has not been on the 33-year-old’s side in recent history.
Gibson (16-7) has gone 4-1 since his UFC departure, 4-0 at bantamweight, but of late hasn’t had the activity to go along with the resume boost.
“2019 was a rough year for me,” Gibson said in an interview with MMA Empire.
“Two different fights tentatively scheduled, wasn’t able to compete in, had two surgeries in 2019. It was a rough year. Going into 2020 was hoping to get active, but the world shut down. Two-plus years for me, not because I wanted to, but that is life sometimes.”
Gibson will now face Louie Sanoudakis (8-2) at XMMA 2 after his original opponent, fellow UFC veteran John Dodson, was forced out due to a serious car accident.
Gibson admits it is hard to, at times, find opponents willing to fight a UFC veteran on the regional scene. Gibson applauds his opponent for having the same mindset as him when he was a regional prospect. Gibson feels there is a path back to the UFC, or a major promotion, in the near future.
“I’m really hoping to be fighting for any promotion. Bellator’s got a stacked bantamweight division, or if the PFL ever opened at 135. Actually, the 2019 fights were supposed to be at the 145 division for the PFL. I’d love to be back in the UFC, I’m in my prime right now. I’m not the athlete I was at 22, but in other ways I feel stronger, don’t feel like I’ve lost a step,” Gibson said.
“I would like to be back in the UFC, 4-1 since leaving the promotion. In an ideal world I get that opportunity. My problem since I left the UFC is inactivity. This is the first step back to being active again.”
