A UFC bantamweight title fight between champ Cody Garbrandt and T.J. Dillashaw is official for the UFC’s second event at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Cody Garbrandt is set to make his first UFC bantamweight title defense against T.J. Dillashaw at UFC 217 in November, promotion officials announced Wednesday night.
Garbrandt (11-0) won the championship with a surprising unanimous-decision victory over Dominick Cruz at UFC 207 last December. The 26-year-old made his debut in the Octagon in January 2015 and holds a UFC record of 6-0 with four stoppages.
Dillashaw (14-3), a former 135-pound champion, lost the title in early 2016 to Cruz by decision. He has since rebounded with two straight victories over Raphael Assuncao and John Lineker.
Garbrandt and Dillashaw, former teammates at Team Alpha Male turned bitter rivals, were initially supposed to fight at UFC 213 this past July, but “No Love” was forced out of the contest with a back injury. The pair coached The Ultimate Fighter 25 earlier this year.
Garbrandt vs. Dillashaw is expected to serve as the co-main event.
Also announced for UFC 217: Curtis Blaydes vs. Oleksiy Oliynyk at heavyweight; Corey Anderson vs. Patrick Cummins at light heavyweight (first reported by Farah Hannoun); and Aiemann Zahabi vs. Ricardo Ramos at bantamweight (first reported by Montreal Gazette).
UFC 217 takes place at Madison Square Garden in New York City on Nov. 4. In the main event, middleweight titleholder Michael Bisping defends his title for the second time against ex-welterweight champ and Canadian superstar Georges St-Pierre.