T.J. Dillashaw put on the best performance of his young career Saturday night, knocking out bantamweight kingpin Renan Barão in the fifth-round of their championship bout at UFC 173.
Since the loss, Barao’s coach Andre Pedereiras has already began campaigning for an immediate rematch at UFC 179 which takes place on October 25 in Barao’s home nation of Brazil.
Steph Daniels of BloodyElbow.com recently spoke with Dillashaw’s striking coach Duane “Bang” Ludwig, who shared his thoughts on a potential rematch:
“His last fight was with Faber, and it was a fairly quick fight. It’s not like he came out with injuries. It wasn’t like he came from a hard fight straight into another hard fight. I’m not saying Faber was an easy fight, but the way that fight ended, with a controversial quick stoppage, left no damage to Renan.
I guess in some contracts, they have immediate rematch clauses, but I don’t know about T.J.’s, nor can I comment on it because that stuff is confidential. I don’t think it’s fair for Barao to get an immediate rematch. That fight wasn’t even close, but then, who else is T.J. going to fight? Who is the Number 1 contender? It’s still Barao. I know he’s gonna need some time to recover, so I doubt he’ll be the next guy to challenge for the belt.”