T.J. Dillashaw: Beating Cody Garbrandt Twice Makes Me the Bantamweight GOAT
Ultimate Fighting Championship bantamweight king T.J. Dillashaw is confident that a win in his rematch with former champion Cody Garbrandt puts him at the top of the list as the greatest bantamweight of all time in MMA.
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“Killashaw” was a guest on Monday’s edition of “The MMA Hour,” and told host Luke Thomas that he has proven that he’s the best bantamweight ever despite his close decision loss to another former champion Dominick Cruz back in January 2016.
“It puts me at the top [of the list as the all-time greatest
bantamweight]. I know I’m the best bantamweight ever,” Dillashaw
told Thomas. “I’ve got a split decision loss to Dominick Cruz and
that changed everything, a fight that I thought I won. That changed
everything, but I am the best bantamweight in the world.”
“I get to continue to grow my legacy,” he added. “Then I’ll move onto the next challenge and continue to be the best pound-for-pound fighter that I possibly can be.”
Dillashaw admitted the decision loss to Cruz has tarnished his legacy somewhat and if a rematch does present itself down the line, he’d happily consider it if Cruz was healthy again.
“I don’t think so,” Dillashaw replied when asked if he felt he needed to fight Cruz again.
“My performances speak for themselves. We’ve got to see if Dominick Cruz can even fight. The guy can’t even get in there anymore, so we’ll see if it comes up, but right now I’ve just got to worry about knocking Cody out in three weeks.”
In their previous fight at UFC 217, there was a suggestion Garbrandt carried an injury into the fight but Dillashaw was quick to shut down the idea.
“No I do not agree [that Cody was injured in the fight],” Dillashaw said. “I don’t know how him being injured would have had an effect on me knocking him out.”
Dillashaw understands the fight on Aug. 4 may play out differently but he’ll still be chasing the finish as he believes Garbrandt is susceptible to the knockout.
“I don’t mind if [the fight is] going to be different,” Dillashaw said. “I’m just going to go out there and make Cody irrelevant at the weight class. I’m going to go out and finish him. He’s got no chin, he doesn’t have any technique and I think I’m going to prove to everybody in the weight class that he doesn’t belong in the top 10.”
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