UFC bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw believes that another win over Cody “No Love” Garbrandt, who he knocked out at UFC 217 in November, will solidify his status the best bantamweight ever.
“It puts me at the top [of the list as the all-time greatest bantamweight],” Dillashaw said on the latest episode of The MMA Hour (transcribed by Peter Carroll for MMA Fighting). “I know I’m the best bantamweight ever. I’ve got a split decision loss to Dominick Cruz and that changed everything — a fight that I thought I won. That changed everything, but I am the best bantamweight in the world.”
“I get to continue to grow my legacy,” Dillashaw added, discussing the appeal of the rematch with Garbrandt. “Then I’ll move onto the next challenge and continue to be the best pound-for-pound fighter that I possibly can be.”
While Dillashaw understands that his split decision loss to Dominick Cruz is a point against him in the bantamweight GOAT debate, he doesn’t feel he needs to fight Cruz again.
“I don’t think so,” Dillashaw said when asked if a Cruz rematch was necessary.
“My performances speak for themselves. We’ve got to see if Dominick Cruz can even fight. The guy can’t even get in there anymore, so we’ll see if it comes up, but right now I’ve just got to worry about knocking Cody out in three weeks.”
Although Dillashaw hopes this fight with Garbrandt will help solidify his legacy as the best bantamweight ever, he’s also keen to drive his arch rival out of the title picture for good.
“I don’t mind if [the fight is] going to be different,” Dillashaw said. “I’m just going to go out there and make Cody irrelevant at the weight class. I’m going to go out and finish him. He’s got no chin, he doesn’t have any technique and I think I’m going to prove to everybody in the weight class that he doesn’t belong in the top 10.”
This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 7/17/2018.