The UFC has chosen the next challenger for TJ Dillashaw’s bantamweight crown…and it’s an interesting, albeit unsurprising, choice. On January 17 at UFC Fight Night 81, Dillashaw will take on former UFC and WEC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz. The news was announced Wednesday night on UFC Tonight on Fox Sports 1:
BREAKING: TJ Dillashaw vs. Dominick Cruz for the UFC Bantamweight title on January 17th on @FS1
— UFC Tonight (@UFCTonight) September 10, 2015
Cruz ranked among the top pound-for-pound fighters during his reign as the WEC bantamweight champion and would be crowned the inaugural UFC bantamweight champion when the promotion was absorbed in 2011. He made his UFC debut in 2011, handily beating Urijah Faber and then dominating future UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson, but suffered a serious knee injury while working as a coach on The Ultimate Fighter season 15.
His knee injury was revealed to be a torn ACL, which required surgery. Numerous complications arose, however, and his return would be pushed back to UFC 169. When he was forced to withdraw from UFC 169 due to a groin injury, his opponent, Renan Barao, was promoted to undisputed bantamweight champion. Cruz wouldn’t make his return until UFC 178, where he made quick work of longtime top-10 fighter Takeya Mizugaki. Unfortunately, he would sustain another knee injury, which sidelined him for another year.
During Cruz’s recovery, Dillashaw would rise to the top spot in the UFC’s 135-pound division and has since posted two strong defenses of his belt. In his last fight, he out-worked the aforementioned Barao before scoring a vicious round-four knockout.
This is a compelling fight both in and out of the cage. Cruz has been tearing into Dillashaw during interviews in recent months, calling him “nothing but a wannabe” (Warning: NSFW Language). More importantly, Dillashaw and Cruz represent two of the most well-rounded talents in the sport today and are guaranteed to put on a technically brilliant fight.
It’s an interesting fight between two fighters who rose to the top of their divisions during different eras. “If you really look at Dominick Cruz, he never really lost the title,” said UFC President Dana White on UFC Tonight (h/t Mike Bohn of MMAJunkie.com for the transcription). “The superfight for T.J. right now is Cruz. Cruz has never been beat (in a title fight), and really is still the champion. He got stripped of the title because he can’t stay healthy.”
Fight Night 81 is scheduled for January 17 and will take place during the NFL Playoffs. No other fights have been officially attached to the card yet, so stick with Bleacher Report for more news on the card as they surface.
Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com