Garbrandt gets pep talks from Kobe, Tyson before UFC fight

Current UFC Bantamweight Champion Cody Garbrandt speaks on being a coach for the upcoming season of “The Ultimate Fighter” and his issues with other coach T.J. Dillashaw from the Ultimate Fighter Gym on Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2017.NEW YORK — Cody Garbrandt got a pair of championship pep talks in the week leading up to the biggest fight of his career: Kobe Bryant and Mike Tyson each stopped by for a motivational pick-me-up and to rub elbows with perhaps UFC's next big thing.

Garbrandt yearns to share more than championships with the stars — he wants to be stamped with the same greatness that defined them.

The 26-year-old Garbrandt, a tattooed tough guy with remarkable charisma out of Ohio, makes…