TJ Dillashaw strongly believes that Demetrious Johnson is ducking him.
Johnson will defend his flyweight belt against Henry Cejudo at the UFC 227 card while Dillashaw will fight Cody Garbrandt once again as he defends his bantamweight title in the main event.
Johnson and UFC President Dana White frequently exchanged words in early 2017 over this bout. The reason for that was due to Johnson not being receptive to a fight with Dillashaw even though White and other UFC officials were pushing for it last year.
White came out and mocked Johnson for taking it. This led to Johnson firing back and claimed that White threatened to shut down his entire division.
White denied that and gave Johnson the fight he wanted, which was against Ray Borg that was almost guaranteed to do low PPV numbers.
Dillashaw claimed to TMZ Sports in a recent interview that the UFC flyweight champion is ducking him because he’s afraid of a true challenge.
“It was a fight that already made sense. The fans wanted it. I wanted it. The UFC wanted it. It’s all about him manning up and accepting the challenge. He’s got a target on his back. I respect the guy as a fighter. I respect him as a man, but it’s time to man up and get this thing done,” Dillashaw said, per MMA Weekly.
“I do believe so,” Dillashaw replied when asked if Johnson was ducking him. “I believe that he’s comfortable where he’s at. He’s comfortable fighting the guys he’s fighting. I think I bring a real threat. I bring a real threat to the table that he’s not willing to accept.”
The UFC 227 pay-per-view event is set to take place on August 4, 2018, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California.
The main card will air on pay-per-view at 10 p.m. ET while the preliminary card will air on FOX Sports 1 at 8 p.m. ET and the promotion’s streaming service, UFC Fight Pass.
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