Dillashaw Set to Defend His Belt

Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports

@tjDillashaw Profile

Going into his title fight against former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) bantamweight champion Renan Barao at UFC 173 earlier this year, T.J. Dillashaw wasn’t given much of a chance to beat a man who was on a crazy 32-fight win streak.

After all, Barao had previously dominated the entire competition which included T.J.’s mentor, Urijah Faber, on two separate occasions.

Undeterred, Dillashaw not only defeated Renan to claim the 135-pound belt, he did it by beating one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world at his own game: the striking department (video highlights here).

So when UFC came calling for an immediate rematch, “The Viper” didn’t hesitate to accept the bout, which goes down this weekend (Sat., Aug. 30, 2014) at UFC 177 in Sacramento, California.

Because as Dillashaw told FOX Sports, beating the scrappy Brazilian twice is another step to reaching legendary status.

His words:

“I said ‘yes’ instantly. I had no question about it because now that I’m the UFC champion and that gold is there to help make me a legend and build my name up as high as possible, and to do that Renan Barao’s the one to beat. He’s the one to propel my name into greatness. He’s the one who is ranked ahead of me in pound-for-pound, even though I demolished him. So he’s still ranked ahead of me in the pound-for-pound list. I beat him, I move up the ranks. While the win is still fresh in his mind and in my mind, I might as well do it again. I feel like I’ve got his number and I’m ready to put it on him and get him scared and he knows I’m going to beat him again.”

While most see the rematch as a chance to allow Barao to change the things he did wrong, it also gives Dillashaw a chance to capitalize on what he did right one more time.

TJ Dillashaw – Cal State Fullerton (Bret Harte HS)

And when T.J. gets more than one chance to compete against the same opponent, it doesn’t bode well for the opposition, which is why the the bantamweight kingpin is confident he’ll retain his strap.

Also, since their initial fight is only four months removed, T.J. looks to take advantage of a fighter who still may not have recovered from the beating he took. Which is unfortunate for Renan, because he’s stepping into the cage only to be on the receiving end of another beat down.

“I guarantee he’s thinking in the back of his head everyday when he’s training that he doesn’t want that ass whooping to happen again. I’m going to put it on him and he’s going to fold. It’s a huge psychological advantage for me. For one, I’ve always gotten better when I’ve competed against someone multiple times in wrestling and in practice and fighting. The more I practice against you, the more I figure you out. Two, he took a beating and he took a lot of punishment to the head and I rocked him a bunch of times and I don’t even know if he’s had enough time to recover from that.”

For Dillashaw, beating Barao two times in the span of four months will not only up his ranking status, but — much like Chris Weidman earned for beating Anderson Silva twice — give him the proper respect he deserves for stopping a fighter who at times, looked unbeatable.

After that, the sky is the limit for T.J. as he eyes bigger and better things, such as a higher spot on the pound-for-pound rankings, another belt in a different division, and of course, legendary status.

You know, “hall of fame material.”