Over the last two years, UFC bantamweight champion T.J. Dillashaw has established himself as the kingpin of the 135-pound division.
After dismantling former champion Renan Barao at UFC 173 to capture the title, Dillashaw followed that up with stoppage victories over Joe Soto at UFC 177 and the aforementioned Barao in their rematch last year on FOX. The 29-year-old now has the opportunity to cement himself as arguably greatest bantamweight in UFC history Sunday at a UFC Fight Night event in Boston. All he needs to do is take out former champion Dominick Cruz, who has never lost a fight at 135 pounds.
Much of the credit for Dillashaw’s evolution in the sport goes to striking coach Duane Ludwig, who has made noticeable improvements in the TUF 14 finalist’s stand-up game. Ludwig first trained him when they worked together at Urijah Faber’s Team Alpha Male gym in California. Since then Ludwig split from the gym to be with his family in Colorado and didn’t leave Team Alpha Male on good terms. It was only a matter of time before Dillashaw followed suit, moving to Colorado himself where his loyalty to Ludwig and the influence he’s had on his career was stronger the bond he had with his former teammates. With any distractions between his former teammates and Ludwig now in the review mirror, Dillashaw finally feels 100 per cent focused going into his title defence.
“There have been no issues because I know I made the right choice,” Dillashaw told Sportsnet. “I know it in my training every day. I know it in just by feeling it and seeing other guys here perform. I know how hard camp has been and I’m excited to show that [on Jan. 17].”
Ahead of Dillashaw’s third title defence, the Sonora, Calif., native did manage to get some downtime over the holiday season amidst all the responsibilities that go into preparing for a five-round fight.
“I was feeling so over prepared and working so hard that it was nice to take a few days off,” Dillashaw explained. “It was actually beneficial to myself to go back California, see the family and kind of get a little bit of break. I mean Thanksgiving and New Year’s, I worked straight through, but Christmas I decided to go home and take some days off.”
Recharged and ready to go for Sunday’s championship showdown, Dillashaw shared his excitement at having the opportunity this training camp to work full time with Elevation Fight Team in Colorado.
“It’s been awesome. I’ve been pushed so hard in this camp not only by my training partners but my coaches. I’m very well prepared for this fight. Leister Bowling has been an awesome wrestling coach. Eliot Marshall is probably the best jiu-jitsu coach I’ve worked with. Loren Landow is an awesome strength and conditioning and super smart guy. Some of my training partners have been pushing me really hard. Cory Sandhagen a 145-pounder, kid is super tough, awesome kickboxer. Daniel Hooker who is in the UFC featherweight division, he’s been pushing me a lot. UFC welterweights Brandon Thatch and Neil Magny, you learn a little bit from all those guys too. They’re all super respectful guys. It’s been an easy transition for me and [my coaches and teammates] make it even easier.”
Dillashaw (12-2) comes into this title defence on a four-fight winning streak and while many pundits find comparisons between he and Cruz the former NCAA Division 1 wrestler is quick to point out the differences.
“My power and my aggressiveness are what separate me from [Cruz]. When it comes to each aspect of MMA, I also feel more technical. We both do a good job of mixing it together, that’s why Dominick has been so dominant in the past because he mixes it up so well. Now he’s got someone who does and does it better.”
Cruz (20-1) is a former UFC bantamweight champion and vacated his title in January 2014 – due to inactivity stemming from injuries – despite never losing a fight in the UFC. The 30-year-old has only fought once in the last four years and it was right around the time he suffered these injuries that Dillashaw’s career really took off going 8-1 since 2012. Uncharacteristic of past fights for Dillashaw, there is a lot of trash talk heading into the fight and it all stems from the current FOX Sports commentator Cruz.
“I definitely think he’s jealous of what I’ve done with my career. Look how much attention I’m getting for my fights, I mean my fights are pretty entertaining. His fights are nothing to rave about and weren’t as popular [as my fights]. I think he’s jealous of that. He’s one of those guys who doesn’t want you doing better than him.”
So how does this fight end? The Elevation Fight Team product had a quick and simple response.
“I see me knocking out Dominick Cruz and keeping my belt.”
While the UFC bantamweight champion isn’t looking past his upcoming opponent, he is keeping an eye on the bantamweight division in terms of future matchups. Two names stand out are Raphael Assuncao and John Dodson, the only two fighters to defeat Dillashaw in the past. While he doesn’t have a preference, these are two losses he’d like to avenge at some point in his career.
“I guess [my preference] would be Raphael Assuncao because I know I won that fight and I feel like I got robbed. But Dodson I’d love to get that fight back too because it still was early in my career. I still feel like I could have won that fight but I came into it a little careless and reckless.”
Follow James Lynch on Twitter @LynchOnSports
