EXCLUSIVE | TJ Dillashaw on Henry Cejudo fight: ‘I don’t see a challenge’

On Friday morning, UFC bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw silenced many of his doubters and made weight for his flyweight title fight with Henry Cejudo. With his weight cut out of the way, the only remaining challenge is the fight itself.

To say TJ Dillashaw is feeling confident would be an understatement. Despite the fact that he’s slimmed down quite a bit, he says he’s actually stronger than ever heading into this flyweight title fight.

“People always think I’m lying but I’m actually stronger now than I was my last camp,” Dillashaw said on episode 109 of BJPENN Radio. “I put up some [personal records] on my clean and press and doing some PRs on my weightlifting, which is pretty impressive.”

While TJ Dillashaw is overflowing with confidence heading into this fight, he acknowledges that Cejudo is a dangerous foe. He just doesn’t think Cejudo is dangerous enough to pose a challenge.

“I mean he’s competitive,” Dillashaw said. “He’s an athlete. He’s an Olympic gold mentalist so he’s got some attributes, but really I don’t see a challenge. I see me just having to get out there and perform. Go out there and have some fun, perform.”

If TJ Dillashaw defeats Henry Cejudo to win the flyweight belt, he’ll be just the fourth fighter in UFC history to hold titles in two divisions concurrently. It’s also possible that he’ll be the last UFC flyweight champion ever, as Dana White has had his finger on the division’s kill-switch for some time.

Whatever the future holds for the division, Dillashaw hopes that a flyweight title win will help cement him as MMA’s pound-for-pound king.

“I’ll be the last flyweight champion,” Dillashaw stated bluntly. “I mean really what it comes down to man, is cementing my legacy and realizing that I’m the greatest fighter on this planet. I think that I’m the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world, and that’s me proving it. I’ll be able to go down a weight class, I can go up a weight class, I can beat everyone and I know it. Me and Duane [Ludwig], my coach, and my teammates and my other coaches know that I’m the greatest pound-for-pound fighter and I’m looking to prove it.”

TJ Dillashaw’s flyweight title fight Henry Cejudo goes down on on ESPN+ tomorrow night.

Do you think TJ Dillashaw can cement himself as the sport’s top fighter with a flyweight title win?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 1/18/2019.