Dillashaw: I Was Told I’m Fighting Mighty Mouse In August
Former UFC bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw was set to challenge current titleholder and bitter rival Cody Garbrandt in the main event of July 8’s UFC 213 from Las Vegas, Nevada, but a back injury to “No Love” has put the bout in jeopardy. A recent report actually indicated that Garbrandt was no longer fighting on July 8 and Dillashaw told ESPN.com that he was ’99 percent’ sure the fight was off.
If he doesn’t fight Garbrandt in July, Dillashaw has expressed interest in dropping down in weight to challenge dominant flyweight champion and pound-for-pound king Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson. In fact, Dillashaw, who says he’s spoken to UFC President Dana White regarding the idea, says he could meet Johnson in August:
“I was told that if Cody is out of the fight, which I am 99 percent sure he is, I will be fighting [Johnson] in August,” Dillashaw said. “”I texted Dana White three days ago to ask what the deal was. He told me Cody had one more day of injections [in Germany] and then we’d find out what was going on.
“Dana was really excited about that. I don’t know if [Johnson] wants to turn down the fight or what. I don’t really know how that works. I’ve never turned down a fight from the UFC before. I don’t know if you’re really allowed to — but Dana was very excited about it.”
White has indeed expressed interest in the idea, although Johnson has remained relatively quiet regarding the potential clash. “Mighty Mouse”, who recently tied Anderson Silva’s all-time consecutive title defenses record at 10, will look to make the 11th defense of his 125-pound strap in his next bout, breaking a record in the process.
Dillashaw feels as if Johnson should attempt to break this record in a ‘big’ fight like the one he’s proposed:
“If this fight doesn’t happen, it really comes down to him not wanting to fight me,” Dillashaw said. “I’m cutting in line? Are you kidding? That was the weakest cop-out ever.
“I want to fight the best fighter in the world and I think he does nothing but tarnish his legacy if he doesn’t take it. He can’t call himself the greatest of all time if there are big fights coming to him and he’s turning them down. He wants to break a record fighting someone no one’s ever heard of? Why not make this thing epic and sell it? He’s been talking about getting paid; this is the way to do it.”
The ex-bantamweight champion has never competed at 125 pounds before and although he admits it’d be a tough weight cut, he feels as if it’d be worth it as well. Dillashaw is also working with a new nutritionist and would make the necessary changes in order to make the flyweight limit safely:
“The way I’m going to do it is switch up the way I work out,” Dillashaw said. “I’m still going to eat well, but my diet will be very different. It will almost be an Ironman [triathlon] approach, lot of aerobic workouts. It’s going to be a hell of a change for me. I’m not a big 135-pounder but I’m lean year-round.
“Right now, I’m at like 9 percent body fat. I’m willing to cut myself to a little under 6 percent. We’ve got it all calculated out and it’s going to be a lot of work, but if the juice is worth the squeeze, you do it.”
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