Earlier this year, former UFC bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw learned that he would be stepping into the Octagon to fight his former teammate Cody Garbrandt for the UFC bantamweight title. While the pair coached opposite one another on The Ultimate Fighter, it was revealed recently that Garbrandt would be heading to Germany to undergo a procedure on his back.

While UFC President Dana White was confident Garbrandt would be healed due to the fact that he sent ‘No Love’ to his doctor in Germany, the UFC President revealed that a backup plan was in the works. Should Garbrandt be unable to fight Dillashaw on July 8th, the UFC will look to book a flyweight title fight between champion Demetrious Johnson and TJ Dillashaw.

Dillashaw spoke on Submission Radio about possibly moving down to flyweight for a fight with Demetrious Johnson:

“I think shooting for that Jon Jones and Cormier card (at UFC 214) would be amazing,” Dillashaw said. “Dana already said he doesn’t want to make them guys a headliner, so why not put me and Demetrious in front of them? What bigger fight could you have in front of those two guys besides me and Demetrious?”

“Dana says as far as he’s concerned that there’s still gonna be a fight July 8th, but I highly doubt it. You know, Cody seems very mentally weak to me and he’s already making excuses about what’s going on with his back,” Dillashaw said. “He said that he’s been hurt for months and that he was supposed to be cleared March 1st.”

“Well, he was running around looking like an idiot on the Ultimate Fighter and his back didn’t seem to be bothering then. He did the coaches challenge, he was trying to get in everyone’s face, trying to fight then, but then all of a sudden when we’re getting closer to the fight and things are about to get real, he’s hurt.”

This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 5/19/2017.