Decatur Brothers Talk Cody Garbrandt

Some guys have a much easier time than others becoming the face of a city or state. John Wayne had Iowa, Larry Bird will always be the “Hick from French Lick,” but according to Ohio State wrestlers Jordan and Jacob Decatur, Cody Garbrandt is a bad man, but not quite the man yet.

*Sigh* Thanks, LeBron.

“Cody is my favorite for sure,” Jordan Decatur said. “I love watching him. I love seeing him get in the ring and not just because he’s an Ohio guy but, I don’t know, there’s something different about him. He’s got a little finesse to him, he can throw hands and he can wrestle.”

With high praise for the Randlemans, Colemans and Stipes of the world, both brothers agree that Garbrandt carries more of the Ohio toughness than anybody else lacing up the 4-oz gloves.

With the vast amount of farmland in the state, “the real” Ohio sometimes gets overshadowed. Jordan explains that while there’s always going to be the rural muscle of Ohio represented in sports, it’s Garbrandt that carries the grit that carries more weight in inner-city Akron.

“I can’t speak for other guys, but, for me, I have a little bit of a chip on my shoulder,” Jordan said. “I don’t like people stepping to me a different way. Guys like Cody Garbrandt, we come with a different edge.”

Younger brother, Jacob, explains that being put in wrestling at the age of four years old set the two on track for a life of combat sports obsession. Now watching at least a fight card per month on top of college and athletics, it’s one of his biggest passions. However, he hasn’t given much consideration to an MMA debut.

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“I don’t think I’d be able to do MMA,” Jacob laughed. “I can take a punch, but I don’t know. That’s how I’m thinking right now.”

Jordan seemed to differ slightly. With his base skill of wrestling already at a higher level than some active fighters in the sport, if he got his hands polished, he feels he wouldn’t be far behind the pack.

Both brothers do agree that while they both gravitate towards the former bantamweight champion, the Akron in them still puts LeBron James as the face of the Buckeye State. Neither one says it with any disrespect meant at all, and if they chose an Ohio athlete Mt. Rushmore, Garbrandt is on there for sure. But, for now, the crown is still on the head of King James.
 

They also agree that there still is a path to being the Ohio G.O.A.T. and although they don’t know exactly what that path is at the moment, they would love to meet up and discuss it with him one day.

“I would love to meet Garbrandt,” Jordan said. “He seems like a real Buckeye fan, but I never got the opportunity to. He needs another quick knockout. That’d be nice. It’d take a lot for him to get up with LeBron. He’d need a pretty hot streak but for me he’s on the priority list. I got to watch every fight of his.”