*By Conor White*
Cody Garbrandt won the biggest fight of his life in December 2016 when he became the UFC Bantamweight champion.
He was motivated, in part, by the fight his young friend Maddux Maple showed against leukemia.
"He's had such an impact on me," Maple, 11, said of Garbrandt. "He helped me go through cancer, the rough time I was going through, and I don't know what I would do without him."
Garbrandt and Maple met in 2011, when Maple was just five years old and ravaged by the effects of chemotherapy. Garbrandt, who hadn't been signed by the UFC yet, promised Maple he would win a UFC championship belt if Maple beat cancer.
In 2015, Maple's leukemia went into remission.
"I was battling my own demons, and he helped me with a lot of those," Garbrandt said Tuesday in an interview with Cheddar. "Early on, with the decision to chase history, he helped me chase this goal and stay motivated and stay focused on the task at hand and with his battle and what he was able to do, he had a big impact on my life and a was a huge motivating factor in making it to the top."
Garbrandt is telling his and Maple's story in the new book, "The Pact".
With the pact completed and his cancer in remission, is Maddux Maple planning to follow his friend into the octagon?
"No, I actually want to be a childhood cancer doctor," Maple said. "That's what I went through, so I went to help people who go through what I went through."
For the full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/the-fight-of-their-lives).
Two major league games scheduled for Monday night have been postponed as the Miami Marlins deal with a coronavirus outbreak that stranded them in Philadelphia.
The Seattle Kraken becomes the NHL's newest hockey team. Co-Owner, Jay Deutsch, talks deciding on the team name and what it means to become part of such a large organization in the NHL.
Following successes like 'The Last Dance' & 'Tom vs Time,' Religion of Sports has raised $10 million as the company looks to expand its presence in sports media. CEO, Ameeth Sankran, talks making a lasting imprint by telling important sports focused stories.
The NHL’s newest team finally has its name: the Seattle Kraken. The expansion franchise unveiled its nickname Thursday, ending 19 months of speculation.
Mayor Muriel Bowser weighs in on the Washington Redskins name change after the organization faced opposition from sponsors and advertisers.
The Washington Redskins will change their team nickname following mounting pressure from sponsors and advertisers. CEO of the Aspire Group, Anthony Tall, talks hurdles the team will face both from fans and the financial burden of re-branding changes.
NBA photographer Andy Bernstein talks season return and plans to document players' reaction to calls for social and racial change amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Oura CEO, Harpreet Singh, talks development of a wearable ring that detects symptoms of COVID-19 and partnership with the NBA as the league heads to Orlando to restart game play.
The New York City Marathon scheduled for Nov. 1 has been canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The noose found hanging in Bubba Wallace’s garage stall at Talladega Superspeedway had been there since at least last October.
