While the feud between Team Alpha Male (TAM) and former TAM member TJ Dillashaw has been a very public one, the Cody Garbrandt-TJ Dillashaw feud was reignited at the end of 2016 when undefeated TAM prospect Cody Garbrandt was gearing up for his UFC 207 showdown with Dominick Cruz, and Dillashaw was gearing up for his bantamweight #1 contender fight with John Lineker, which took place at the same event.
While the possibility of both men emerging from their fights victorious and fighting one another for the bantamweight championship was certainly a possibility in the minds of fight fans, Dillashaw was one step ahead, already looking to potential set up a potential fight with his former teammate when just hours before the event was set to kick off, he revealed on social media that he had made ‘No Love’ cry during practices at TAM. Garbrandt fired back, hours before his title fight with Cruz, dropping a bombshell as he proclaimed that TAM coach Justin Buchholz had footage of himself knocking Dillashaw out in training. Dillashaw of course refuted the claims, which resulted in a back-and-forth war of words between the two men. Following Garbrandt’s masterful win over Cruz, and Dillashaw’s dominant win over Lineker, the two men have continued to trade shots on social media.
Now, Dillashaw has looked to call Garbrandt’s bluff in a recent appearance on The MMA Hour, saying:
“Oh, we’ve definitely thrown down,” he said. “Don’t get me wrong, Cody is a tough kid. But, it’s funny for him to start talking about him knocking me out before. For one, I’ve never been knocked out. The closest was when Jon Dodson clipped me at The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) Finale. And he keeps talking about that he has footage on it, and it’s hilarious because he’s digging himself a hole because if you have footage on it then put it out. It has not happened.
“I think that was the biggest mistake by talking about he has footage of it,” he continued. “If he doesn’t, put it out there because it didn’t happen. And if it did, I guess I did get knocked out because I don’t remember it. Why would I be afraid for him to put it out there if it didn’t happen?”
Only time will tell if these two step into the Octagon to throw down for Garbrandt’s bantamweight belt.