Cody Garbrandt wants UFC to do more to set up fighters for retirement

LAS VEGAS, Cody Garbrandt received a bit of a wake-up call following Dustin Poirier's recent arrest.

A former UFC champion now nearing the end of his career, Garbrandt (15-7 MMA, 10-7 UFC) contemplated his future after fighting, as well as what's in store for his fellow fighters as as whole.

Poirier, who's long been a staple of the UFC, retired from MMA earlier this year. In multiple interviews before and after his arrest, Poirier expressed how tough it was for him to adapt to life after fighting. Things reached a boiling point for Poirier two weeks ago when he was arrested for public drunkenness at an airport.

Garbrandt, 35, can see how fighters, even successful ones like Poirier, stuggle in retirement from many different aspects: physical and mental health, financial stability, and more. "No Love" would like to see the UFC help mitigate these issues.

"I don't know how many years I have left in the sport, but I pray that God lets me stay healthy, intact, and I can leave on my own terms," Garbrandt told MMA Junkie on Tuesday. "I think a lot of fighters don't get that opportunity. They have to fight because they need the money. They have to fight injured. It's tough. You see them walk away and the detriment that it does getting released back into the wild. Like, man, you're not going to have that adrenaline, something to look forward to, so it's tough. I just pray that a lot of these fighters stacked their money, get plans for after. I wish the UFC did a little more in helping us out with that: healthcare, insurance, 401K. It's scary to leave something that's secure and you've chased your whole life, and then it's done and those paychecks don't come in, those sponsorships don't come in. Then you go back to not having that adrenaline of chasing something. ... It's scary to think about that stuff. I can see why mentally, physically, emotionally a lot of fighters you see in the media go through stuff like that."

Garbrandt returns to the cage this Saturday at UFC 329 against Adrian Yanez (17-6-1 MMA, 6-3-1 UFC). He's been feeling bad for Poirier in the bout's lead-up. He thinks much of the public has been unfair with Poirier, who since the incident has apologized and opened up about his family issues and his coping mechanism with alcohol.

"I feel for Dustin. I get choked up just thinking about it because he's such a good dude," Garbrandt said. "People are just ridiculing him in the media for one slip up he had. This dude has done so many amazing things inside the sport, outside the sport, the foundations that he's done, how many people he's helped in his life. ... To where he's come from in Louisiana to what he's done in the world, and he's got to come out and do these videos apologizing. Hey, man, you made a mistake. It's happens. We're humans. We're not perfect. It's tough to see because Dustin is such a good dude deep down. He had one little mistake."

This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Cody Garbrandt wants UFC to do more to set up fighters for retirement