Former UFC bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw can expect to earn an immediate 135-pound title shot if he’s able to upend No. 2-ranked contender Cory Sandhagen in the UFC Vegas 32 main event, scheduled for this Sat. night (July 24, 2021) inside APEX in Las Vegas.
As for the “Sandman,” he’ll still have some work to do.
That’s according to current UFC bantamweight titleholder Aljamain Sterling, who might want to check with ex-division kingpin Petr Yan before making any big decisions. But as far as “Funk Master” is concerned, Dillashaw has far less to prove than Sandhagen.
“You beat T.J. Dillashaw, does that give you a title shot? I don’t know,” Sterling said on his “Weekly Scraps Podcast” (transcribed by MMA Junkie). “But if T.J. beats him, does that give T.J. a title shot? It should absolutely give T.J. a title shot. Absolutely. But in the sense of the other way that I’m looking at it, I don’t know what this win really does for Sandhagen other than getting another marquee name added to his resume.”
Sandhagen (14-2) has won nine of his last 10, including back-to-back knockout victories over Marlon Moraes and Frankie Edgar. As for the returning Dillashaw (16-4), he’s been sidelined for over two years after drawing a sizable suspension from USADA.
One that cost him the 135-pound strap.
“I think it’s gonna be a good stylistic matchup,” Sterling continued. “A guy who’s so much taller, rangier, fights with so much calmness and now fighting with a little more stank in terms of brutality, trying to really hurt guys in there. I think it’s gonna be a very, very fun fight to watch. If I had to put my money on it, I gotta say Sandhagen gets the job done. These guys used to train together, and I do believe them formally training together gives him some type of confidence that he understands what he’s dealing with going in there. If T.J.’s truly off the stuff, I like Sandhagen’s chances even better in this one.”
We’ll find out in two days.
To see who else is fighting at UFC Vegas 32 click here.