Friday night in the co-main event of UFC 207, undefeated bantamweight prospect Cody Garbrandt stepped into the Octagon and put on the performance of a lifetime as he picked apart bantamweight kingpin Dominick Cruz, dropping the champ several times throughout the fight en route to a unanimous decision win to claim the UFC bantamweight championship.
Leading up to the fight, Garbrandt stated that if he emerged victorious on the 30th of December, he would be willing to give Cruz an immediate rematch. With that being said, TJ Dillashaw became the bantamweight #1 contender when he defeated John Lineker on the PPV portion of the event. Given the animosity between Dillashaw and Team Alpha Male, many fight fans are now discussing the possibility of Garbrandt and Dillashaw fighting.
UFC President Dana White spoke about the situation, saying:
“T.J. Dillashaw said that, if he doesn’t get the shot, then this whole thing is rigged,” White joked during the FS1 post-event show. “So I think I’m going to give the rematch to Dominick Cruz just to make him right.
“Dillashaw made it look easy against a very tough guy, a scary guy that can knock you out at any moment. And Dillashaw is a total conspiracy theorist and says nutty stuff all the time, but yes, he’s probably next in line.”
Dillashaw spoke about the situation, and why he’s thankful Garbrandt won, saying:
“I don’t have hard feelings,” Dillashaw said after the pay-per-view event at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. “I’m sure it’s going to be played up big time for all the drama and stuff. No hard feelings. Maybe a little bit with the unnecessary trash-talk when I’m not even fighting him.
“But, all I can say is thank you because now I’m going to get a title shot. For sure, with the drama leading up to this is – thank you.”