Former bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt suffered the first loss of his career against former Team Alpha Male training partner Tj Dillashaw back in November 2017 when he was knocked out in the second round at UFC 217. Now Garbrandt has a chance to recapture this belt in their rematch at UFC 227 main event which is set to take place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on August 4.
The UFC official’s decision to grant Garbrandt an immediate rematch at redemption left many scratching their heads given the fact Dillashaw spectacularly won the bout. Dillashaw while speaking to MMAFighting that he has no qualms about facing his old team-mate again, but he believes Garbrandt doesn’t deserve an immediate rematch.
“I don’t think in any form does Cody deserve the rematch,” Dillashaw said on a recent episode of The MMA Hour. “But I’m happy to do it. The UFC obviously wants it. So I mean, if they want it, they’re going to pump this up. For whatever reason they want to put Cody in there. I think it’s a great fight for me. He doesn’t deserve it whatsoever on the sport side of it. But I’m a businessman and I’m going to go out there and put him away.”
“There’s still some built-up animosity, you know?” Dillashaw said. “It’s not going to just go away all of a sudden. You know he should be, he’s pushing for this title fight, he wants this, he wants that, but, in all reality, I mean, I don’t think he realizes how much is on the line. What’s he going to do after I knock him out two times in a row?”
“Because no, he doesn’t deserve it. It’s a completely different situation this time. He can’t be all big, bad, and tough. He just got knocked out. This is a little bit different. Yeah. I don’t think it is going to be as bad as it was last time. I don’t feel the team is going to be attacking me as much as well. You know? They looked really bad.”
“Immediate rematches or rematches in general, I don’t know if they ever really do change,” Dillashaw said. “I see myself winning this fight even easier. Just like with the Barao situation, I went out there and won the second time even easier.”
Garbrandt, who claimed the title after defeating Dominick Cruz via decision at UFC 207, wasn’t able to successfully defend it, as Dillashaw beat him in their grudge match.
What do you think, TJ Dillashaw will successfully defend his title or Cody will surpass Dillashaw?
