It’s official. UFC bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt will attempt the very first defense of his bantamweight title at UFC 217, this November 4 in New York City, New York. His opponent will be his arch rival, former champion TJ DIllashaw. Though this bout has long been expected to occur at this November card, which goes down inside Madison Square Garden, it was only just set in stone by the UFC. The promotion announced the fight on UFC Tonight, then on social media.
Cody Garbrandt and TJ Dillashaw were originally expected to collide at UFC 213 this past July in Las Vegas. Regrettably, Garbrandt was forced out of the booking with a back injury, so their anticipated grudge match was put on ice. Though Dillashaw briefly flirted with a potential drop to flyweight for a fight with dominant champion Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson, it appears his crack at bantamweight gold will go ahead as planned.
Shortly after the fight, Garbrandt vowed to “cut the snakes head off in The Garden.”
Can’t wait to cut the snakes head off in “The Garden” 🔪🐍… https://t.co/priB1xA9Sk
— Cody Garbrandt (@Cody_Nolove) August 17, 2017
UFC 217 will be headlined by a middleweight title fight between champ Michael Bisping and challenger Georges St-Pierre.
The UFC also confirmed a slew of other fights last night, including a middleweight bout between Kelvin Gastelum and Anderson Silva, which will go down at a UFC Fight Night on November 25 in Shanghai, a welterweight bout between Matt Brown and Diego Sanchez, which will go down on November 11 at a Fight Night in Norfolk, and an interim lightweight title fight between Tony Ferguson and Kevin Lee, which goes down at UFC 216 on October 7.
Who do you think wins this anticipated TJ Dillashaw vs. Cody Garbrandt title fight?
This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 8/17/2017.