TJ Dillashaw has been involved in the UFC bantamweight division’s title picture for the last eight years, making him one of the most dominant athletes in the promotion over that span.
At UFC 173, Dillashaw went up against then-champion Renan Barāo, who came into the bout on a 32-fight unbeaten streak with three title defenses. With those credentials, you’d expect Dillashaw to be quite the underdog, and most likely face some adversity in the fight. However, Dillashaw got out on the front foot early and never looked back.
In the first round, Dillashaw showed off his hand speed and diversified his strikes well to keep Barāo constantly guessing where the next attack would come from. With 60 seconds left in the round, Dillashaw landed a massive overhand right that dropped Barāo to the mat. Despite recovering well, this was the first sign for Barāo that he may be in for a long night if he couldn’t keep up with Dillashaw’s speed and accuracy.
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Continuing his early success throughout all five rounds, Dillashaw strolled his way to a unanimous decision victory and his first undisputed UFC bantamweight title.
After losing his title to Dominick Cruz two years later, Dillashaw earned an opportunity to retrieve what was once his against then-champion Cody Garbrandt, who looked virtually untouchable in his title winning performance against Cruz at UFC 207 to bring him to 11-0.
In a fight fueled by bad blood between the former teammates from Team Alpha Male, Dillashaw faced adversity late in the first, being on the wrong end of a knockdown in the dying seconds of a round that had Dillashaw on wobbly legs on his way to his corner.
In the second, a seemingly fully recovered Dillashaw began loading up with powerful shots. A left high kick landed, dropping Garbrandt in what looked like a flash knockdown before “No Love” bounced right back up to his feet. Moments later, Dillashaw landed a left hook that sent Garbrandt back down to the mat. The referee stepped in moments later to stop the bout, making Dillashaw a two-time bantamweight champion.
