TJ Dillashaw Talks His Win Over Cody Garbrandt: ‘I Really Don’t Believe He’s Got A Chin’
TJ Dillashaw proved his haters wrong that his first win against Cody ‘No Love’ Garbrandt was no fluke by repeating the same results in their rematch.
Dillashaw knocked out his formal rival Garbrandt in the opening round at UFC 227 inside Staples Center to retain the title. The 135-pound title bout was an immediate rematch of a fight at UFC 217 back in November that Dillashaw won via second-round TKO.
Garbrandt again paid the price for leaving his chin exposed while packing up on his punches, as Dillashaw took out ‘No Love’ with a brutal flurry in the first round, hurled a huge right hand followed up by a knee to the chin and onslaught of strikes before the referee stepped in and waved things off. (Via MMAFighting)
“I think he has some technical problems that he needs to fix,” Dillashaw said at UFC 227’s post-fight press conference. “And I really don’t believe he’s got a chin. He plays a dangerous game. He likes to get in there and he likes to slug it.”
Cody Garbrandt hadn’t been knocked out before his UFC 217 loss to Dillashaw, but there are some visible key pinpoints regarding his defense and ability to take a punch, which others may look to exploit him during his road back to a title shot.
Dillashaw’s smart game planning lead him to win the bout after noticing technical errors in Garbrandt’s standup.
“We were planning on him throwing a right hand,” Dillashaw said. “Every time he throws a right hand, he drops his left. He’s looking to throw a left hook. He’s fast. He throws a big right, left hand. But he drops it to his pocket. So were planning on timing it.”
After dethroning Cody Garbrandt in back to back, fights, Dillashaw declared himself the best bantamweight of all time.
“I wasn’t going to let off,” Dillashaw said. “There’s no way. I’m too mean. I’m gonna go until I win. I didn’t have a problem giving him a little extra, too. That knee was a pretty hard knee. I felt that one and that finished him off.
“I’m in too good of shape to let up the throttle. He’s not gonna be able to recover. I’m gonna be able to push the pace always.”
After retaining the title, T.J. Dillashaw also welcomed a possible showdown with newly crowned flyweight champion Henry Cejudo.