The Pact: A UFC Champion, a Boy with Cancer, and Their Promise to Win the Ultimate Battle

Description

A UFC champion and a boy with leukemia, in the fight of their lives. 

Cody Garbrandt dreamed of being a UFC champion. In his darkest moments, when those dreams were dashed, he dug deep with the assistance of an unlikely friend—five-year-old Maddux Maple, a local hometown fan with leukemia. They made a pact: Cody would be in the UFC and win the championship, and Maddux would beat cancer. 

Read their moving story in Cody’s new book, The Pact, and go at the back of the scenes into Cody’s training and how he made his dreams come true. 

Cody Garbrandt grew up in a rough town in the Central Appalachian region of Ohio, surrounded by a longstanding culture of fighting—and drugs. Raised in this environment by a single mom (his dad left him at the young age of three to reside in the Ohio State Penitentiary), Cody grew up fighting, and he grew up wild. His future appeared predestined to end in the coal mines, or in prison.

Thankfully, Cody had visions of something more. His American Dream? Mixed Martial Arts. But a path to achievement wasn’t clear. He spent as much time fighting in the streets as he did in the gym—one bad decision away from losing everything. Then, at age 20, Cody’s brother introduced him to five-year old Maddux Maple. Maddux used to be deathly unwell with leukemia, his survival on no account assured. A unique friendship developed as they made a promise to one another: Maddux would beat cancer, and Cody would make it to the UFC and turn into world champion.

Through five long years of pain and hardship, they both persevered; Cody, through the agony and sacrifices of fighting his way to the top, and Maddux through the horrors of chemotherapy. They loved and supported each and every other. They served as each and every other’s inspiration. And in December 2016, they made good on their pact: Cody won his UFC Championship belt, which he promptly presented to Maddux—the boy who had beaten cancer into remission.