EXCLUSIVE | TJ Dillashaw expects to defeat Cody Garbrandt faster, more decisively in rematch

Back in November, in the co-main event of UFC 217, TJ Dillashaw stepped into the cage with Cody Garbrandt in an attempt to reclaim the UFC bantamweight title. In the second round, Dillashaw succeeded on this mission, putting his rival down with a crackling combination.

Though Dillashaw was briefly linked to a superfight with flyweight champ Demetrious Johnson, his first defense as the UFC bantamweight champion will instead pit him against Garbrandt in an immediate rematch. This do-over will occur at UFC 227 on August 4th in Los Angeles.

Like many fans and pundits, Dillashaw feels Garbrandt’s shot at redemption is a little premature. That said, the champ is happy to defeat his rival again.

“He deserves an ass whooping, but he does not deserve the title shot,” Dillashaw said on the latest episode of BJPENN.COM Radio. “It’s a great fight for me man, for me to go out there and prove my dominance over him.”

Though Garbrandt was able to drop Dillashaw in their first fight, Dillashaw doesn’t feel his rival actually brought all that much to the table. As such, he’s expecting to finish Garbrandt even faster this time around.

“I’m going to finish him sooner too,” Dillashaw said. “Other than that one big right hand that I ran into — I went and watched that first round again just the other day with Duane [Ludwig] — other than that right hand, he really didn’t do much.”

“It wasn’t like he had a great offense, it wasn’t like he was putting it on me,” Dillashaw continued. “I ran into his hardest shot. I came in hard, he threw his right hand. I took his best shot and came up still swinging. Really, what it comes down to is just making sure I stick to the smart fighter that I am.”

“I see myself finishing him once again, a little bit even cleaner this time, seeing the openings even sooner,” Dillashaw concluded, offering a prediction for the fight. “Shoot man, I even have a huge advantage on the ground in the wrestling aspect, so I can even take him down and submit him in the first round. I see him having some big holes in that realm as well too.”

Who do you think will come out on top in TJ Dillashaw and Cody Garbrandt’s UFC 227 rematch?

This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 5/10/2018.