Ahead of TJ Dillashaw and Cody Garbrandt’s first fight, which co-headlined UFC 217 in November, there were almost no breaks from their war of words. Heading into their Saturday night, UFC 227 rematch, which will see Garbrandt attempt to reclaim the bantamweight title after being knocked out by Dillashaw, the trash talk has been much scarcer.

TJ Dillashaw has noticed a changed in Cody Garbrandt, and he believes he knows why it happened.

“He’s trying to be a nice guy – he’s trying to flip the script,” Dillashaw told MMAJunkie on this week. “He was a jerk, bully, the first time. … He wants to try and smooth it over, be the nice guy, and you know it’s a little bit different situation. He can’t be a prick now that I just knocked him out.”

Garbrandt has also claimed that he was slowed down by a back injury in their first fight. Whether this is true or not, Dillashaw is expecting his opponent be extremely dangerous on Saturday night.

“I prepare for everyone to be a monster,” Dillashaw said. “I prepare for every situation. Same reason why I got hit in that first round, (but) I was able to come back in the second. You can’t focus on this stuff. You can’t overlook anybody. You’ve got to expect him to be awesome, right? But it’s excuses, you know?”

If Dillashaw succeeds on his mission at UFC 227, and defeats Garbrandt for a second time, he expects to leave his long-time rival behind for good. In fact, he believes a loss will effectively destroy Garbrandt’s title dreams at bantamweight. 

“He’s never going to get a shot again,” Dillashaw said. “Two in a row, never went back and got better – I’m not too worried about it, man.”

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 8/2/2018.