One of Cody Garbrandt’s biggest nemeses in his MMA career is TJ Dillashaw. Dillashaw is now 2-0 over his former training partner, but almost a year prior to their first contest, Garbrandt was already throwing shots at his future opponent and showing him “No Love.”
The following article was published on this day five years ago. It is presented to you in its original, unaltered form, courtesy of the MMA News Archives.
On This Day Five Years Ago…
[ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED JANUARY 8, 2017, 3:25 PM]
Headline: Cody Garbrandt: ‘T.J. Dillashaw Can’t Even Draw PPV Buys’
Author: Fernando Quiles Jr.
Cody Garbrandt may have just won the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) bantamweight title, but he’s already looking to call the shots. Big money fights seem to be a recurring theme these days and “No Love” is no exception. Garbrandt hasn’t been shy about his interest in fighting featherweight champion Jose Aldo and lightweight title holder Conor McGregor.
One fighter that doesn’t seem to pique Garbrandt’s interest is his former Team Alpha Male training partner, T.J. Dillashaw. For Garbrandt, it boils down to Dillashaw’s pay-per-view (PPV) drawing abilities (via MMAFighting.com):
“Like I said, I went for the title shot…it was a two man race. Really it was just about getting paid, getting a contract, is why T.J. squeezed back in. You know, he was selling peanut butter, and anteing up $100,000 to bribe Cruz into a title shot. Dude, I don’t want to even speak on Dillashaw. He doesn’t even draw pay-per-view buys. It’s not even a fight that makes sense from that standpoint.”
“No Love” knows what it was like to be a teenager hoping to one day capture UFC gold. It’s something he had visualized for over 10 years and it came to fruition at UFC 207 against Dominick Cruz. Garbrandt says he’s now the hunted and wants to keep evolving.
“But like I said, I got my eyes on Jose Aldo. I saw something that he wanted to fight me, so I’m ready to take down another legend. That’s why I got into this sport. I’m ready to build my legacy, and then to defend it. There’s going to be kids like me, that are teenagers, watching right now that want to whoop my ass. So I got to make sure that I keep improving and improving and doing my legacy. That’s why I jumped into the UFC and the fight game to do this, it’s to be the greatest. Lord willing, I’ll have longevity and have a lot of success.”
Despite Garbrandt’s comments, few would argue that Dillashaw is deserving of a title shot. The former bantamweight champion swept John Lineker on the same card “No Love” won the 135-pound strap. The Elevation Fight Team standout is 6-1 in his last seven bouts.
