TJ Dillashaw News

Tom Taylor - December 30, 2016

Later tonight, on the main card of UFC 207, former bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw will take on streaking contender John Lineker. The winner of this compelling scrap is likely to be the next man in line for the winner of the card’s co-main event: a bantamweight title showdown between champion Dominick Cruz and challenger Cody Garbrandt. If Garbrandt springs the upset and becomes the division’s new champion, don’t expect him to be especially worried about his first challenge. In advance of his fight with Cruz, he’s referred to both Dillashaw and Lineker as “easy fights.”

Tom Taylor - December 30, 2016

Former UFC bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw is the owner of one of the most unique fighting styles in MMA. As such, he is an extremely difficult opponent to prepare for. Tailoring a game plan for his specialized blend of footwork, head movement, and takedowns is an undeniably stark challenge. Dillashaw’s UFC 207 opponent John Lineker, however, is not particularly panicked about this challenge. In a recent interview with MMAJunkie.com, he shed some light on his very simple strategy for Dillashaw. In his last fight, which saw him narrowly defeat John Dodson, Lineker said he spent too much time chasing his opponent. Against Dillashaw, he plans to avoid doing this, thereby forcing Dillashaw to come to him. From there, he can get to work with his absurd punching power.

bjpenndotcom - December 30, 2016

Tonight, on the main card of UFC 207, former UFC bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw will be stepping into the Octagon against streaking bantamweight John Lineker. While the fight was expected to produce the bantamweight #1 contender, UFC matchmaker Sean Shelby recently stated that the fight is not guaranteed to produce the next bantamweight title challenger:

bjpenndotcom - December 28, 2016

Earlier this month, former UFC bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw was one of several high-profile UFC fighters who emerged as part of the MMA Athletes Association. In addition to Dillashaw, former UFC welterweight kingpin Georges St-Pierre, former UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez, and top ranked fighters Donald Cerrone and Tim Kennedy all announced their involvement.

Tom Taylor - December 23, 2016

In one week’s time, in the co-main event of UFC 207, bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz will attempt to defend his title against undefeated challenged Cody Garbrandt. Though Garbrandt has yet to beat a top-5 opponent, his incredible punching power and sizzling beef with the champ have most members of the MMA community pretty excited for their fight. That does not include former bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw, who recently weighed in on Garbrandt’s title shot in an interview with Fox Sports. “Really it’s all just kind of bullsh*t,” Dillashaw said of Cruz’ bout with Garbrandt. “It makes no sense at all how they give the No. 8 guy, who skips over seven guys to get a title shot. It’s kind of whatever the UFC wants to do and they’re letting Dominick Cruz hand select his fights right now.”

Chris Taylor - December 18, 2016

Former WEC featherweight champion Urijah Faber retired from the sport of mixed martials arts last night, this following his dominant UFC on FOX 22 victory over Brad Pickett, which took place in front of Faber`s hometown crowd in Sacramento, California. Shortly after earning the decisive victory, Faber`s former teammate and protégé TJ Dillashaw reached out to his former coach and mentor with the following message.

bjpenndotcom - December 7, 2016

In just over a week, MMA veteran Urijah Faber will step into the Octagon for the final time as he squares off against Brad ‘One Punch’ Pickett in front of his hometown crowd in Sacramento, California. For Faber, the fight will mark the end of a historic 13 year professional MMA career that saw ‘The California Kid’ fight some of the top names in the sport, including Dominick Cruz, Jose Aldo, and Frankie Edgar, to name just a few. While the former WEC champ was never able to capture UFC gold, the impact Faber made on the sport is undeniable.

Tom Taylor - November 21, 2016

  #Repost @duanebangcom ・・・ BMT Hook slip drill with My Ninja @TJDillashaw @LudwigMMA thank you coach @kurtsouthern

Tom Taylor - November 2, 2016

We now know that UFC 207 will be co-headlined by a men’s bantamweight title fight between reigning champion Dominick Cruz and streaking challenger Cody Garbrandt. Well, as it turns out, this co-main event won’t be the only high profile men’s bantamweight scrap on the December 30 card. According to a report from ESPN.com, a bout between former champion TJ Dillashaw and stone fisted contender John Lineker is also in the works for the event. Sources close to both competitors have apparently confirmed that the fight is nearly finalized. If this fight is indeed booked, it’ll be a nice consolation prize for Dillashaw, who has been ceaselessly campaigning for a rematch with Cruz. The two talented bantamweights first met in January of this year. On that night, Cruz walked away with a hard-fought split decision win, and the bantamweight belt. Since that razor close loss to Cruz, Dillashaw has rebounded nicely with a dominant decision win over former foil Rafael Assuncao on the undercard of UFC 200.

bjpenndotcom - October 31, 2016

Duane “Bang” Ludwig has reinvented himself as a world-class striking coach after a long and storied mixed martial arts career of his own. These days, “Bang” is the former bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw’s lead striking coach, who has ramped up Dillashaw’s striking immensely. Ludwig was largely credited at improving the striking for all of Team Alpha Male before leaving alongside Dillashaw in what many perceived to be a kind of mutiny.

bjpenndotcom - October 29, 2016

Former UFC bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw is coming off a big win over Raphael Assuncao at UFC 200 back in July, which returned him to the win column after dropping a controversial split decision to Dominick Cruz back in January of 2016 to lose the bantamweight championship. Following Dillashaw’s win over Assuncao, there was talk of whether or not he would get the next title shot at bantamweight, and secure himself a rematch with Cruz, however ultimately, the UFC opted to give the title shot to streaking bantamweight prospect Cody Garbrandt, who is an undefeated Team Alpha Male prospect. Garbrandt’s MMA record currently sits at 10-0, which includes a 5-0 run inside the Octagon. Throughout the course of his stint with the UFC, Garbrandt has finished all but one opponent via KO/TKO. The scrap between Cruz and Garbrandt is currently slated to take place at UFC 207 on December 30th, the UFC’s New Years Eve card.

bjpenndotcom - October 29, 2016

Former UFC bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw is coming off a dominant performance against Raphael Assuncao at UFC 200 back in July, avenging his 2013 split decision loss to Assuncao as he cemented his place at the top of the bantamweight division. Following the win over Assuncao, which returned Dillashaw to the win column after he dropped a controversial split decision to Dominick Cruz at ‘UFC Fight Night: Boston’ in early January, there was some speculation as to whether or not he would be getting a rematch with Dominick Cruz for the bantamweight championship.

bjpenndotcom - October 20, 2016

TJ Dillashaw has been angling for a rematch with the man who took his bantamweight belt, Dominick Cruz, ever since narrowly losing it to the “Dominator” this past January in Boston. Dillashaw took to Instagram on Wednesday to call out the newly crowned champ and did not mince words in doing so!

bjpenndotcom - October 4, 2016

Former UFC bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw has been doing everything in his power to secure a rematch with UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz. Cruz, who returned to the Octagon earlier this year, fought Dillashaw in the main event of ‘UFC Fight Night: Boston’ back in January, and reclaimed the bantamweight championship that he never actually lost inside the Octagon as he picked up a split decision win over Dillashaw.

Tom Taylor - September 30, 2016

In January of this year, TJ Dillashaw attempted to defend the UFC bantamweight title against returning former champion Dominick Cruz. Unfortunately, Dillashaw’s title defense didn’t go the way he planned, as he surrendered a split decision – and the bantamweight crown – to his foe.

bjpenndotcom - September 24, 2016

It’s no secret that former UFC bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw has been attempting to secure a rematch with bantamweight kingpin Dominick Cruz. When Cruz made his highly anticipated return to the Octagon at the start of 2016, ‘The Dominator’ reclaimed the bantamweight championship belt he never lost inside the Octagon as he picked up a razor thin split decision win over TJ Dillashaw.

Tom Taylor - September 16, 2016

In January of this year, TJ Dillashaw surrendered the UFC bantamweight title to returning champion Dominick Cruz in a competitive, five-round battle. Having rebounded from this title loss with a nice, decision win over Rafael Assuncao at UFC 200, Dillashaw’s focus is now locked on a rematch with Cruz, and the chance to reclaim the title that was once his. But that doesn’t mean the former champion isn’t looking further into the future. On the most recent episode of The Fighter and the Kid podcast (via MMA Latest), Dillashaw told hosts Brendan Schaub and Bryan Callen that, once he’s reclaimed the bantamweight title from Cruz, he’s got his eyes on a flyweight title fight with pound-for-pound king Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson.

Tom Taylor - September 13, 2016

In January of this year, TJ Dillashaw lost the UFC bantamweight title to long-absent former champion Dominick Cruz in a razor-close, five-round war. Given the competitive nature of the bout, many expected the two to be booked for an immediate championship rematch. This is not the way things went down. Instead, Cruz went on to successfully defend his title against long-time contender Urijah Faber, while Dillashaw returned to defeat Raphael Assuncao at 200.