TJ Dillashaw Eyes Henry Cejudo Rematch After Title Fight Was Stolen From Him

TJ Dillashaw eyes another fight against UFC flyweight champion Henry Cejudo. This comes after Cejudo finished the UFC bantamweight champion to successfully retain the UFC flyweight title in the headliner of UFC on ESPN+ 1. This event down on Saturday night (January 19, 2019) at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. The expectation is that […]

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TJ Dillashaw eyes another fight against UFC flyweight champion Henry Cejudo.

This comes after Cejudo finished the UFC bantamweight champion to successfully retain the UFC flyweight title in the headliner of UFC on ESPN+ 1. This event down on Saturday night (January 19, 2019) at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

The expectation is that Cejudo will move up a weight class in order to do an immediate rematch against Dillashaw to challenge for the bantamweight title.

It all comes back to the early stoppage, which is what many people thought happened. The finish saw Dillashaw being rocked twice and dropped before being finished on the ground.

After the fight, Dillashaw made his feelings known and he wasn’t happy about how it ended.

Reaction

“Sucks to have it stolen from you,” Dillashaw told MMAjunkie. “I worked my butt off. It would be nice to actually get the chance to show it. It’s a title fight. It’s a champ-vs.-champ fight, and you’re going to stop the fight like that? I’m in on a single leg. (The referee) said, ‘Hey, show me something.’ I said, ‘OK.’ I’m on a single leg in a scramble, (Cejudo) stops punching, he’s defending a single leg. And (the referee’s) going to stop the fight? It’s just ridiculous. It’s pretty pathetic that I have better knowledge (than the referee).”

“If I’m going to lose, I want to lose,” Dillashaw said. “I want to lose if I’m going to lose. Look, congratulations, Henry Cejudo. Awesome. Great job, man. But you did not win. You did not win this fight. I am happy to accept defeat, but I did not lose. I was more rocked in the first Cody (Garbrandt) fight than that fight. I got clipped, hardly clipped behind the ear, and a grown man is going to be shoving you. Of course you’re going to be in a scramble. A grown-ass man is on top of me.”

It appears that Dillashaw will be able to write his wrong and how this fight ended. But, at the end of the day, he trained hard for this superfight and is fired up to get back inside of the Octagon.

“As you can tell, I’m a little frustrated. This (expletive) needs to happen again, at flyweight. This is bullshit. I worked my ass off 12 weeks to get here. To have it stolen from me in 30 seconds. You guys can see the fire. I’ll (expletive) fight tomorrow.”

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Dana White Blasts ‘Horrible’ Stoppage In Henry Cejudo vs. TJ Dillashaw

Dana White blasts the referee for the finish of the first main event on ESPN+ as part of their new broadcasting deal that kicked off. It was a good night of fights and we did get a finish in the headliner. Despite this, the UFC President didn’t hold back on how he felt about the […]

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Dana White blasts the referee for the finish of the first main event on ESPN+ as part of their new broadcasting deal that kicked off. It was a good night of fights and we did get a finish in the headliner.

Despite this, the UFC President didn’t hold back on how he felt about the referee overseeing this main event that was hyped as a superfight.

Henry Cejudo finished UFC bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw to successfully retain the UFC flyweight title in the headliner of UFC on ESPN+ 1. This event down on Saturday night (January 19, 2019) at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. This marked the first title defense for Cejudo as the 125lb champion.

There were many including Dillashaw and White who believed that this was an early stoppage but the fellow UFC champion was rocked twice and dropped before being finished on the ground.

White’s Reaction

The UFC boss made it known that after the event, he got an earful of Dillashaw’s complaint backstage about the stoppage.

“He just yelled at me while I was doing an interview when he walked by, ‘That’s bullshit,’” White said to MMAFighting). “I thought it was an early stoppage too. Listen, you’ve got two of the best guys in the world, two world champions, in a superfight. Let them fight, let them finish, and I’m not talking anything away from Cejudo because the fight went 20 seconds and Cejudo busted him up. I’m sure when you saw [Dillashaw] sitting here it looks like he was in a three-round fight, but Jesus Christ, let ‘em fight. Horrible stoppage.”

“I don’t love it when they have local guys in main events, especially a fight this important, a superfight between two world champions,” White said. “Please, please, please commissions, put the experienced guys in there. Give the guys with the most experience because all you do is you hurt the fighters and you hurt the fans. Your job is to do the exact opposite, so I don’t love it. Honestly, I don’t love it.”

The belief is that Cejudo would move up a weight class in order to do an immediate rematch against Dillashaw to challenge for the bantamweight title. However, White wouldn’t make anything official on Saturday night.

“I said we’ll see what happens, I didn’t say I’d have an answer on Saturday,” White said. “Don’t ask me. I don’t know what I’m gonna do.”

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TJ Dillashaw Explains Why Henry Cejudo Is Not ‘Dangerous Fighter’

TJ Dillashaw explains why he doesn’t consider Henry Cejudo a dangerous fighter while doing a recent media scrum to promote their upcoming fight. The UFC bantamweight champion will fight Cejudo for the UFC flyweight title in the main event of the UFC on ESPN+1 event. Dillashaw will move down 10 pounds to challenge for Cejudo’s […]

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TJ Dillashaw explains why he doesn’t consider Henry Cejudo a dangerous fighter while doing a recent media scrum to promote their upcoming fight. The UFC bantamweight champion will fight Cejudo for the UFC flyweight title in the main event of the UFC on ESPN+1 event. Dillashaw will move down 10 pounds to challenge for Cejudo’s 125-pound belt.

On Monday at a media day in Los Angeles, Dillashaw stated that although Cejudo has showed great strides in his performance as of late, he doesn’t consider him a threat. This may prove to be a costly mistake in his mindset come fight night.

“He’s gotten a lot better,” Dillashaw told MMAFighting. “I was impressed with his growth. But he’s not like a dangerous fighter, he’s a little more of a boring fighter. But he’s smart, right? I think that’s where I’m going to pick him apart is that I’m going to be able to put it all together.”

Finish

“I can’t tell you exactly which way I’m going to finish him, but my pressure is going to be too much,” Dillashaw said. “I’m too well-rounded that I can take the fight anywhere, and he’s going to want to fold. He doesn’t have that competitive edge that I have.”

UFC on ESPN+ 1 (also known as UFC Fight Night 143) is set to take place on Saturday, January 19, 2019 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

For months, Dillashaw was calling out then-flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson for a superfight. Once Cejudo beat Johnson to win the title, TJ changed his focus to Cejudo. Despite this, he still can’t live up to the challenge that Johnson would bring in the eyes of Dillashaw.

“I was chasing [Johnson] down, he had that No. 1 pound-for-pound spot,” Dillashaw said. “So that meant maybe just a little bit more. But Cejudo is a great athlete, he went out there with a great plan. I’m not too sure that I can say that he won that one decisively over Demetrious, but he showed some great improvements. Really its just me being dominant over everyone I fight and it’s going to be exciting but I was chasing Demetrious, yes.”

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TJ Dillashaw Makes Interesting Claim About 125 Weight Cut

TJ Dillashaw makes some interesting comments heading into his next fight that could put him into the history books. He is slated to challenge Henry Cejudo for the UFC flyweight title at UFC on ESPN+1. Dillashaw will move down 10 pounds to challenge for Cejudo’s 125-pound belt. While doing a recent interview, the UFC bantamweight […]

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TJ Dillashaw makes some interesting comments heading into his next fight that could put him into the history books. He is slated to challenge Henry Cejudo for the UFC flyweight title at UFC on ESPN+1. Dillashaw will move down 10 pounds to challenge for Cejudo’s 125-pound belt.

While doing a recent interview, the UFC bantamweight champion took some shots at Cejudo over having weight-cutting issues several times earlier in his career.

“He’s missed weight,” Dillashaw said to MMAFighting. “He’s had trouble making weight. He’s had trouble making 125s. I bet I make weight easier than he does. Because of how professional I am. Yeah, of course I’m gonna be skinny,” Dillashaw said. “I’m going down a weight class. If I were to wait and crash all the weight the last night, I’d look better throughout camp. I’d look more normal. Then I would have to crash at the end and my performance wouldn’t be as good. So I’m more worried about the performance.”

UFC on ESPN+ 1 (also known as UFC Fight Night 143) is set to take place on Saturday, January 19, 2019 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

Confident

In fact, Dillashaw thinks that this will be a super easy weight cut despite the changes being made to the date of this fight. Originally, it was supposed to take place on January 26 at the now-canceled UFC 233 PPV event. The fight was moved up a week. That’s not a problem for the champion due to his strict diet.

“Luckily, at that point in time when I did get the phone call, I was ahead of schedule,” Dillashaw said. “I still had to call and check with my coach (Calavitta), like, ‘Hey, is this something we should do?’ He’s a calculus teacher. He’s very scientific with how he does everything.”

“It’s not an issue,” Dillashaw said. “Actually, I always knew I could make the weight, but I’m surprised at how good I feel trying to get down there. But it’s because of how professional I took it. I mean, the weight cut is already over. Now it’s just some tricks to get the last weight dropped now. The weight cut is over. My diet has been strict, my workout routine has been strict. I’m lean and everyone thinks I’m lying, but I’m stronger now than I was last camp.”

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Joseph Benavidez NAmed BAckup For Cejudo vs Dillashaw

In the wake of UFC 233’s cancellation, Joseph Benavidez will now serve as the back up for Henry Cejudo vs. TJ Dillashaw on ESPN + debut card. Benavidez was supposed to be fighting Deiveson Figueiredo at UFC 233 on January 26, 2019, at Honda Center in Anaheim, California. That card has been postponed or cancelled. So, out of […]

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In the wake of UFC 233’s cancellation, Joseph Benavidez will now serve as the back up for Henry Cejudo vs. TJ Dillashaw on ESPN + debut card.

Benavidez was supposed to be fighting Deiveson Figueiredo at UFC 233 on 
January 26, 2019, at Honda Center in Anaheim, California. That card has been postponed or cancelled. So, out of some bad comes good for Benavidez who will now serve as the backup plan for Cejudo & Dillashaw’s 125-pound title fight. 

Cejudo had weight-cutting issues earlier in his career but seems to have gotten them under control in recent years. Benavidez has made weight repeatedly and most picked up a TKO stoppage in his last fight. He recently discussed his backup role:

“I would rather fight than just weigh in, but that’s a whole other thing,” Benavidez told MMA Junkie. “I don’t wish ill will on anyone in the title fight, either, because I know how hard they worked to get there. If someone falls out then I get that opportunity, as well. There’s a ton of options on the table, and I’m ready for all of them. I’ll be in Brooklyn ready to fight for the title.”

Benavidez will recieve his “show” purse for coming in at championship weight.

He has won seven of his last eight fights and has gone 1-1 in 2018. There is perhaps no one more deserving of the backup role than Benavidez.

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Dana White Addresses Moving Cejudo vs. Dillashaw To UFC On ESPN + 1

Dana White addresses the decision to move the big fight between Henry Cejudo and TJ Dillashaw with the UFC flyweight title up for grabs. This fight was originally slated for the UFC 233 PPV event on Saturday, January 26, 2019 at Honda Center in Anaheim, California. However, that had to be moved up about a […]

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Dana White addresses the decision to move the big fight between Henry Cejudo and TJ Dillashaw with the UFC flyweight title up for grabs. This fight was originally slated for the UFC 233 PPV event on Saturday, January 26, 2019 at Honda Center in Anaheim, California.

However, that had to be moved up about a week as the UFC needed a big main event for their first show as part of their new TV deal with ESPN. Dillashaw will move down 10 pounds to challenge for Cejudo’s 125-pound belt.

Dana White Addresses Decision

The UFC President recently addressed this decision during an interview with MMAJunkie where he noted that this isn’t the first time they made this call. Back in 2011, the UFC was in a similar situation with promotion’s network television debut on FOX.

They decided to book a heavyweight title fight between then-champion Cain Velasquez and Junior Dos Santos. This fight served as the headliner for UFC on FOX 1 while it could’ve easily been on PPV. It was a smart call by White as it was a qualified ratings success with 5.7 million viewers.

“We did it last time when we launched, too,” White on Thursday told MMAjunkie.

White also made it known that he’s not worried about Dillashaw trying to cut weight despite the fight taking place a week earlier.

“I don’t worry about a lot of that stuff,” he said. “These guys are professionals. Dillashaw has been around for a long time and knows what he’s doing.”

UFC On ESPN + 1 (also known as UFC Fight Night 143) is set to take place on Saturday, January 19, 2019 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. The main card will air on ESPN + 10 p.m. ET.

The preliminary card will be split broadcasted on ESPN 8 p.m. ET and the TV network’s streaming service, ESPN + Fight Pass. The promotion will be announcing more bouts for this show in the coming weeks.

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