UFC bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt and T.J. Dillashaw will bring their rivalry to the Octagon at UFC 213 as the co-main event.
Per Damon Martin of Fox Sports, UFC President Dana White confirmed the bout during the UFC 210 post-event press conference: “Obviously, Cody and T.J. are already on that card [at UFC 213], so yeah, we’ll see how that goes.”
Garbrandt also confirmed he’ll be fighting on the card:
Garbrandt and Dillashaw are the coaches on The Ultimate Fighter 25, so fans already knew the two would eventually face each other.
They haven’t made a secret of their dislike for one another, either. The preview for TUF 25 showed the current champion grabbing his future opponent by the throat, amid plenty of trash talking (warning: NSFW language):
Dillashaw is a former bantamweight title holder, losing the belt to Dominick Cruz in January 2016. Garbrandt dominated Cruz at UFC 207 in December to claim the title for himself.
The rivalry between the two has been brewing for some time, as reported by Lewis Mckeever of BloodyElbow.com. During TUF 22, lightweight champion Conor McGregor called Dillashaw a snake, and Garbrandt believes he was right:
According to Martin, White still hopes to make the bout between middleweight champion Michael Bisping and veteran star Georges St-Pierre the main event for UFC 213.
For more news, rumors and related stories about Cody Garbrandt, T.J. Dillashaw and the UFC, check out the UFC and MMA streams on Bleacher Report’s app.
Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com