The main event of this Saturday’s UFC 227 card, which goes down this Saturday night at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, sees UFC bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw take on his arch rival Cody Garbrandt for a second time. The two previously met last November at UFC 217, with Dillashaw knocking out Garbrandt in a night full of upsets to take back the bantamweight title he lost to Dominick Cruz in 2016. Since the UFC was unable to put together a Dillashaw vs. Demetrious Johnson superfight, Garbrandt will now get a second chance to fight Dillashaw and get his belt back, while Dillashaw has the opportunity to go out there and silence Garbrandt for good and prove beyond any doubt that he’s the better fighter.
Right now, Dillashaw has a 15-3 pro record, including an 11-3 record in the UFC. That includes wins over the likes of top-ranked fighters Garbrandt, John Lineker, Raphael Assuncao and Renan Barao, amongst others, and an opportunity to get a second win over Garbrandt at UFC 227. Also remember he made two successful title defenses when he was the champion, and aside from a TKO loss to John Dodson, Dillashaw’s only two other losses were by split decision. When you’re talking about the strongest resumes in bantamweight division history, Dillashaw is right up there. But is he the best as he says he’d be with another win over Garbrandt? In order to determine that, we have to compare him to the best, and in the minds of many MMA fans, the best bantamweight of all time is Cruz.
Cruz has a 22-2 career mark, including wins over Dillashaw, Urijah Faber (twice), Johnson, Joseph Benavidez (twice), and Ian McCall, amongst others. That’s an incredible resume, made even better considering the fact he was undefeated between 2007 and 2016. Cruz also made two defenses of the bantamweight title in the WEC and two more of his belt in the UFC until he was stripped of the gold due to inactivity. The fact Cruz came back after major career-threatening injuries to win his title says a lot, not to mention the fact he defended it once again. Really, the only fight where he looked truly bad in was the loss to Garbrandt at UFC 207 in December 2016. Even though Cruz missed a couple prime years due to injury, his resume is still one of the best at 135lbs.
The other guy who was long thought to be the GOAT at 135lbs was Renan Barao, who was being called the best pound-for-pound fighter in the sport just a few years ago. Barao started off his career 32-1, 1 NC and after winning the interim bantamweight title against Michael McDonald he defended it against Eddie Wineland and Faber. But the two TKO losses he suffered against Dillashaw really hurt his resume, and the fact Faber is arguably his best career win isn’t that impressive considering how far out of his prime he was. If you really look at it, Barao’s resume isn’t really that great, and the fact he’s gone on such a losing skid with four losses in his last five fights has pretty much taken him out of this conversation for good.
The only other fighter who could be in the conversation for the bantamweight GOAT title is Garbrandt, but he absolutely needs to go out there and dominate Dillashaw at UFC 227 and show everyone the first fight was a fluke. The win over Cruz is a rare victory that puts Garbrandt in great company whenever we look back at the best bantamweights ever. His next-best win would likely be Thomas Almeida, which in hindsight isn’t the most impressive name on his resume, but that win over Cruz helps a lot, as would a win over Dillashaw. But right now, Garbrandt just doesn’t have the resume to compete with either Cruz or Dillashaw in this conversation.
Right now, I’d have to give a slight edge to Cruz over Dillashaw when it comes to the list of the greatest bantamweight fighters of all time. Cruz went undefeated for nearly a decade, he holds the most notable name wins over other bantamweights, he beat Dillashaw head-to-head, he has the most bantamweight title defenses in WEC/UFC history, and if it wasn’t for injuries he likely would have been even more dominant. The problem with Cruz is that he hasn’t fought in nearly two years and at this point of his career it’s hard to see him fighting much more. That gives Dillashaw the opportunity to go out there and beat Garbrandt and continue his roll. Even though it wouldn’t be a bantamweight fight, if Dillashaw eventually moves down to flyweight and wins the belt there, I think that strengthens his argument for the best bantamweight fighter of all time. But right now, I’d have to favor Cruz. That may very well change after UFC 227 this Saturday night, though.
Do you think T.J. Dillashaw can become the bantamweight GOAT with another win over Cody Garbrandt?
