For the first time, a title will be defended on FOX Sports 1.
T.J. Dillashaw will defend his bantamweight belt against former champion Dominick Cruz in the main event of UFC Fight Night 81 on Jan. 17 in Boston, UFC president Dana White announced Wednesday on UFC Tonight. The card will air on FOX Sports 1 after the conclusion of an NFC divisional game on FOX.
Dillashaw (12-2) has won four straight fights and defended the title twice. His latest victory came against Renan Barao in the main event of UFC on FOX 16 in July. Dillashaw took the belt from Barao in May 2014. The 29-year-old Team Alpha Male product has not lost since a controversial split decision against Raphael Assuncao in October 2013.
Cruz (20-1) never lost the title after winning the WEC belt in 2010. Three leg surgeries kept him out for nearly three years between 2011 and 2014. Cruz, 30, returned in September 2014 to steamroll Takeya Mizugaki via first-round TKO. But then he tore his other ACL and has not fought since. This will mark the Alliance MMA fighter’s return to the Octagon from his latest injury.
Cruz, a top pound-for-pound fighter before he went down, owns wins over the likes of Demetrious Johnson, Joseph Benavidez and Urijah Faber. He was stripped of the belt in early 2014 when he was unable to face Barao in a unification bout at UFC 169.
No other fights have been officially announced for the card. Last year, Conor McGregor defeated Dennis Siver on the night of the NFC Championship game and set a record rating for UFC cards on FOX Sports 1.