Cody Garbrandt is a loyal member of Urijah Faber's Team Alpha Male in Sacramento, California.
But, that doesn't mean the talented fighter is opposed to training elsewhere. And that's just what he intends to do, as "No Love" recently revealed his plans to spend some of his upcoming training camp for his fight against John Lineker at Jackson-Winkeljohn MMA in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
As he told MMA Fighting, it's all about getting out of your comfort zone in order to better yourself as a fighter.
"I'm going to go out there in January, probably do a few weeks there, come back here [Sacramento] for a few weeks, then go back again for a few weeks, go back and forth. I really like Brandon 'Six Gun' [Gibson]. His technique, his motivation, and his training...I believe in him, and he believes in me. In this sport, I believe it's about not being comfortable. To get to those next levels, you have to take yourself out of your comfort zone. I believe that going and getting different looks will help me get better and better...With another nine weeks of training under the tutelage of Brandon and those guys, I'm very excited to come home - it's basically a homecoming - and put on a performance of a lifetime. That's what I'm going to do. I'm taking myself out of my comfort zone so I can go in there and just run through John Lineker, make a statement that I am the real deal in the division, that I am the future of the division. That's my goal. My goal is to be the champion of the world, and that's what I'll set myself up to do."
But, don't expect Cody to dump his longtime camp in "Sac Town," as he says he and Faber have already had a discussion about his plans.
In fact, the talks began long before the much-publicized beef between Faber and T.J. Dillshaw, which stemmed from T.J.'s decision to leave TAM behind to form a new camp in Colorado.
As for his upcoming fight against Lineker at UFC Fight Night 82 on Feb. 21 in Pittsburgh, Cody says he plans on making "Hands of Stone" look like a fool.
"There's nothing better to challenge yourself against than a heavy-handed striker like John Lineker. But, I mean, he's a brawler. That's it. He's a brawler. He gets sucked into those brawls. Anybody can take you out in a brawl, obviously. It's a four-ounce glove, so that can happen. I'm going to make this guy miss so many times, he'll look like a godd--n fool in there. When I knock him out - when I finish John Lineker - people are going to know I'm legit. In that fight, I get the opportunity to prove the hype is real, and that's what I'm going to do on Feb. 21...It's going to be a bad day to fight me, I know that."
For more on the upcoming Fox Sports 1 event, click here.