UFC 227: TJ Dillashaw Plans On 'Ruining' Cody Garbrandt's Career
Bantamweight champion T.J. Dillashaw plans on ending heated rival Cody Garbrandt's future in the 135-pound division.
The two will face off in a rematch in the main event of UFC 227 which takes place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on Aug. 4.
Their last meeting, of course, saw Dillashaw regain his bantamweight title for the first time in nearly two years after inflicting Garbrandt's first professional loss during the co-main event of UFC 217 in November last year.
Dillashaw had plans of becoming a two-weight world champion soon after as he called out flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson for a super fight — a match many in the mixed martial arts world were excited about.
However, it never came to fruition after multiple delays, as ironically, Johnson will be defending his title against Henry Cejudo in the co-main event of the 227 pay-per-view.
That meant with no clear next opponent, Garbrandt was given an instant shot at winning his title back, much to the displeasure of Dillashaw, who had to wait a while to get his own shot after losing his title to Dominick Cruz in early 2016.
The rivalry between the pair is still strong as ever. They were teammates at Team Alpha Male before Dillashaw went his separate ways to another gym — something that Garbrandt did not take to kindly and has escalated into one of the biggest rivalries in the sport right now.
But after knocking Garbrandt out in the second round of their first meeting, Dillashaw is confident of another win and believes he's the superior fighter.
"He knows I’m the better fighter," Dillashaw told Bloody Elbow. "He’ll pump himself up. He’ll talk; that he’s great, that he’s better, and all this stuff, but he knows. He knows the truth. I’m the better all around fighter. I’m the smarter fighter. And this is a bad situation for him, to go right back into a rematch for the title."
Dillashaw does not believe he will lose the belt anytime soon. That is why he also believes Garbrandt's future in the 135-pound division, at least if he wants to become a champion again, will be over after their rematch at the Staples Center.
"I’m going to ruin his career," Dillashaw added. "I’m going to ruin his career at this weight class. He’s already getting his second shot, he should have worried about getting better, but I don’t know if he really can. I don’t know if he’s that smart of a fighter, but I plan on ruining his career at 135."
"This sport’s crazy, obviously anything can happen. You’ve always got to be ready for it and be nervous for that fight, but he doesn’t have a chance. I’ll be ready for anything he can bring to the table. You’ve always got to expect the toughest fight, but he doesn’t have a chance."
Also featuring on the card is a featherweight encounter between UFC veteran Cub Swanson and Renato Moicano while middleweight Thiago Santos will look to get back to winning ways against Kevin Holland.
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