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Demetrious Johnson Denies He’s Fighting TJ Dillashaw In August

Last night (May 23, 2017), ESPN’s Brett Okamoto reported that bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt, who’s been dealing with back issues, was officially off UFC 213 and that his scheduled fight with ex-titleholder and bitter rival TJ Dillashaw had been scrapped. Okamoto also reported that the UFC was planning to have Dillashaw move down in weight […]

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Last night (May 23, 2017), ESPN’s Brett Okamoto reported that bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt, who’s been dealing with back issues, was officially off UFC 213 and that his scheduled fight with ex-titleholder and bitter rival TJ Dillashaw had been scrapped. Okamoto also reported that the UFC was planning to have Dillashaw move down in weight to challenge dominant flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson in August.

“Mighty Mouse”, however, took to his official Twitter account shortly thereafter to deny this claim, saying that he’s waiting for his contract to take on No. 3-ranked Ray Borg:

Just so the world know I haven’t agreed to anything still waiting on my contract to fight @tazmexufc not @TJDillashaw if he wants a title

— Demetrious Johnson (@MightyMouseUFC) May 24, 2017

Shot he can come to flyweight and get a win then get his turn

— Demetrious Johnson (@MightyMouseUFC) May 24, 2017

Borg, who’s won back-to-back fights over Louis Smolka and Jussier Formiga was indeed originally going to be Johnson’s next opponent, but after Garbrandt-Dillashaw fell through, the UFC was presented with a new and likely more lucrative idea.

From a financial standpoint, Dillashaw certainly represents a bigger fight for Johnson, but he also represents one of the most difficult opponents the UFC could book “Mighty Mouse” against. Johnson’s next fight also holds major implications, as he’ll look to defend his 125-pound strap for a record setting 11th consecutive time. With his third round destruction of Wilson Reis at UFC on FOX 24 this past April, “Mighty Mouse” tied Anderson Silva’s all-time title defense record at 10.

Would you like to see Johnson take on Dillashaw next, or does Johnson’s desire to take on a deserving flyweight contender make more sense?

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Yoel Romero vs. Robert Whittaker Interim Title Bout Set For UFC 213

UFC 213, which is set to take place during International Fight Week on July 8, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada, was originally scheduled to be headlined by a bantamweight title fight between champion Cody Garbrandt and ex-titleholder TJ Dillashaw. A women’s bantamweight title scrap between 135-pound queen Amanda Nunes and surging contender Valentina Shevchenko is […]

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Recently, however, it had been reported that “No Love” was dealing with back issues, putting his title fight with Dillashaw in serious jeopardy. According to ESPN’s Brett Okamoto, who appeared on an edition of SportsCenter earlier tonight (May 23, 2017), Garbrandt has officially been removed from the card, with his fight with Dillashaw being scrapped.

The UFC clearly needed to fill a void on what is typically a marquee pay-per-view for the promotion and it did so in the form of an interim middleweight title fight, as top contenders Yoel Romero and Robert Whittaker will face off in the card’s co-main event, also per Okamoto.

Reigning middleweight champion Michael Bisping hasn’t defended his title since scoring a unanimous decision victory over Dan Henderson last October at UFC 204 in Manchester, England. Earlier this year, UFC President Dana White had announced that Bisping would next defend his title against returning former longtime welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre, but that bout has since fallen through according to White. Either way, Bisping, who’s currently dealing with a knee injury, won’t be ready to compete until the fall, leaving the promotion with no choice, but to move forward with the division.

Romero, the rightful No. 1-contender, has won an incredible eight straight fights, with six of those victories coming by way of stoppage. “The Solider of God” holds notable victories over Tim Kennedy, Lyoto Machida and Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza in addition to former champion Chris Weidman, who Romero finished with a vicious flying knee at UFC 205 last November in New York City.

Whittaker, on the other hand, currently sits at No. 3 in the divisional rankings and is riding a seven fight win streak of his own that includes four stoppage victories. The 26-year-old Australian-based contender dubbed “The Reaper” is coming off of back-to-back finishes over Derekn Brunson and Souza.

Many UFC middleweight contenders, most notably former champion Luke Rockhold, who hasn’t competed since shockingly being knocked out by Bisping at UFC 199 last June, have voiced their displeasure with the state of the division. Many have also criticized Bisping for the caliber of opponents he has elected to take on in his title reign thus far. The creation of an interim title, however, should appear as a step in the right direction and it should provide contenders with a sense of clarity in regards to where the division is headed.

What do you make of the UFC’s decision to book Romero against Whittaker?

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Cody Garbrandt Officially Off UFC 213, Dillashaw Headed For HUGE Fight

Cody Garbrandt has officially been ruled off of July 8’s UFC 213 from Las Vegas. Following weeks of speculation that 135-pound champion “No Love” would be unable to participate in his TUF 25-ending bantamweight title grudge match with former teammate and champion TJ Dillashaw, ESPN’s Brett Okamoto revealed that Dana White informed him Garbrandt was […]

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Cody Garbrandt has officially been ruled off of July 8’s UFC 213 from Las Vegas.

Following weeks of speculation that 135-pound champion “No Love” would be unable to participate in his TUF 25-ending bantamweight title grudge match with former teammate and champion TJ Dillashaw, ESPN’s Brett Okamoto revealed that Dana White informed him Garbrandt was indeed out.

With that news, “The Viper” will supposedly take on longtime flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson at a yet-to-be-named card in August:

Dana White also tells me Cody Garbrandt is officially off UFC 213 and that plan is to have TJ Dillashaw fight Demetrious Johnson in August.

— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) May 24, 2017

The massive bout had been discussed by White in recent weeks as speculation ramped up that Garbrandt would no longer be able to fight in the UFC 213 co-headliner after going to Germany for a special treatment on a nagging back injury. Garbrandt recently stated he had four weeks of recovery before he could even resume training.

It’s a significant setback after “No Love” maintained a ton of momentum in the months after his dominant five-round decision win over longtime bantamweight ruler Dominick Cruz at last December’s UFC 207. He was slated to take on his former Team Alpha Male training partner Dillashaw, who has most recently scored one-sided wins over John Lineker and Raphael Assuncao in the two bouts following his own controversial split decision loss to Cruz in “The Dominator’s” return in January 2016.

So “The viper” will instead take on the most dominant force in all of mixed martial arts in flyweight champion “Mighty Mouse,” who was most recently seen destroying Wilson Reis in the main event of April’s UFC on FOX 24, a bout that tied Anderson Silva’s record of 20 consecutive title defenses for the 125-pound kingpin. Dillashaw will cut down to 125 pounds to go for his second title.

Johnson has fought at 135 pounds in the past, losing a decision to Cruz back in 2011 before moving down to his more natural home of flyweight to become the only champion the division has ever seen after winning the title against Joseph Benavidez in September 2012.

So overall, though unfortunate, Garbrandt’s withdrawal sets up a very unique situation for the UFC, which has been focused on so-called “money fights” with fighters from different weight classes in 2017, albeit to disastrous results.

But with the recent announcement that Yoel Romero will fight Robert Whittaker for the interim middleweight title after champion Michael Bisping, who was supposed to take on longtime former welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre at a later date after October, said his recently operated-on knee was not yet fit to fight with, the 185-pound division is set to move on, and now Dillashaw will be able to move forward with his elite career against one of the best fighters the UFC has ever seen.

It’s a golden opportunity to possibly pick up a second title and join the short list of fighters who have accomplished such a legendary feat, but he’ll have to beat the most bulldozing force in MMA to do it. Dillashaw should have the size advantage, yet it’s hard to imagine “Mighty Mouse” being an underdog to any fighter at 135 pounds except Garbrandt.

Do you think “The Viper” has what it takes?

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Yoel Romero vs. Robert Whittaker Set For Interim Title Bout at UFC 213

The stage is set for an interim title bout between Yoel Romero and Robert Whittaker. UFC 213 was supposed to be headlined by a bantamweight title bout between champion Cody Garbrandt and T.J. Dillashaw. A back injury has forced Garbrandt off the card and we now have a new co-headliner. Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) President […]

Dillashaw: I Was Told I’m Fighting Mighty Mouse In August

Former UFC bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw was set to challenge current titleholder and bitter rival Cody Garbrandt in the main event of July 8’s UFC 213 from Las Vegas, Nevada, but a back injury to “No Love” has put the bout in jeopardy. A recent report actually indicated that Garbrandt was no longer fighting on […]

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If he doesn’t fight Garbrandt in July, Dillashaw has expressed interest in dropping down in weight to challenge dominant flyweight champion and pound-for-pound king Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson. In fact, Dillashaw, who says he’s spoken to UFC President Dana White regarding the idea, says he could meet Johnson in August:

“I was told that if Cody is out of the fight, which I am 99 percent sure he is, I will be fighting [Johnson] in August,” Dillashaw said. “I texted Dana White three days ago to ask what the deal was. He told me Cody had one more day of injections [in Germany] and then we’d find out what was going on.

“Dana was really excited about that. I don’t know if [Johnson] wants to turn down the fight or what. I don’t really know how that works. I’ve never turned down a fight from the UFC before. I don’t know if you’re really allowed to — but Dana was very excited about it.”

White has indeed expressed interest in the idea, although Johnson has remained relatively quiet regarding the potential clash. “Mighty Mouse”, who recently tied Anderson Silva’s all-time consecutive title defenses record at 10, will look to make the 11th defense of his 125-pound strap in his next bout, breaking a record in the process.

Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

Dillashaw feels as if Johnson should attempt to break this record in a ‘big’ fight like the one he’s proposed:

“If this fight doesn’t happen, it really comes down to him not wanting to fight me,” Dillashaw said. “I’m cutting in line? Are you kidding? That was the weakest cop-out ever.

“I want to fight the best fighter in the world and I think he does nothing but tarnish his legacy if he doesn’t take it. He can’t call himself the greatest of all time if there are big fights coming to him and he’s turning them down. He wants to break a record fighting someone no one’s ever heard of? Why not make this thing epic and sell it? He’s been talking about getting paid; this is the way to do it.”

The ex-bantamweight champion has never competed at 125 pounds before and although he admits it’d be a tough weight cut, he feels as if it’d be worth it as well. Dillashaw is also working with a new nutritionist and would make the necessary changes in order to make the flyweight limit safely:

“The way I’m going to do it is switch up the way I work out,” Dillashaw said. “I’m still going to eat well, but my diet will be very different. It will almost be an Ironman [triathlon] approach, lot of aerobic workouts. It’s going to be a hell of a change for me. I’m not a big 135-pounder but I’m lean year-round.

“Right now, I’m at like 9 percent body fat. I’m willing to cut myself to a little under 6 percent. We’ve got it all calculated out and it’s going to be a lot of work, but if the juice is worth the squeeze, you do it.”

Is this a fight that intrigues you?

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Amanda Nunes: ‘It Doesn’t Make Sense to be a Champion & be Afraid’

Amanda Nunes says she doesn’t fear any challenger, including Valentina Shevchenko. Nunes, who is the reigning Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) women’s bantamweight title holder, is set to defend her title against Shevchenko at UFC 213 inside the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on July 8. Speaking with A.G. Fight, Nunes said this is her […]