Bryan Caraway turns down Cody Garbrandt, wants title shot after beating Aljamain Sterling

Cody Garbrandt wants a piece of Bryan Caraway. Coming off his knockout victory over Thomas Almeida at UFC Fight Night 88, Garbrandt called out Caraway on Tuesday’s edition of The MMA Hour, saying he wanted a fight with his fellow bantamweight contender at UFC 203 in Cleveland.

Caraway, though, has other plans.

On what was a momentous night for the bantamweight division in Las Vegas, Caraway had the biggest win of his career, as he handed the much-hyped Aljamain Sterling his first career defeat.

With four wins in his past five fights, Caraway believes he deserves either a title shot or a crack at one of the top names in the division. And he doesn’t believe Garbrandt is quite yet on that level.

“I’m not saying [Garbrandt] wasn’t talented, but, he wasn’t in the Top 15 at all,” Caraway said on The MMA Hour. “He had a good performance and all that, but I think that would be going backwards just from where I’m trying to go.

The way Caraway sees it, he just beat the fight ranked No. 4 in the division in Sterling, so Garbrant, despite his impressive performance, would be a step back.

“He just broke into the top 10,” Caraway said. “I beat an undefeated guy that night as well. The No. 4 guy in the world. I want one of those top guys,I feel like I earned to fight for the belt. I beat the No. 6 guy before hat, I beat the No. 4 guy. I think Garbrandt, maybe one more top 10 win and he’ll be ready for top five guys.”

Whether you agree or disagree with Caraway’s assessment of Garbrandt, it’s hard to argue that Caraway hasn’t earned his keep in the division. Caraway was the underdog going into the bout …

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