UFC bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw wants to prove a point in becoming just the second fighter to hold two titles in the promotion at the same time. The first man to do so was Conor McGregor, who captured the lightweight title in Nov. 2015 having won the featherweight version less than a year earlier.
Just don’t expect Dillashaw to accept comparisons with “The Notorious”.
Dillashaw ended an intense beef with his knockout of Cody Garbrandt at UFC 217 in November last year. Seeing as Demetrious Johnson (the 125-pound titlist Dillashaw is targeting) will be out for the foreseeable, Dillashaw may be waiting a while.
“They always talk about Demetrious Johnson and what record he’s about to break. They always talk about Demetrious Johnson and the win streak he’s on or Demetrious Johnson being No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world. But they’re never talking about Demetrious Johnson and who he’s fighting,” Dillashaw told FloCombat. “Now he has a chance to lose, and that’s a scary thing for him.
“I am that person. I’m that person that’s going to bring that threat. You’re going to be glued to the TV because for once you don’t know what’s going to happen.”
Dillashaw believes that Johnson has no interest in fighting him, which does nothing for his goals in ‘cementing his legacy’:
“I want to prove a point. He insulted me saying I couldn’t make the weight, that I wasn’t worthy of a 125-pound title shot and he knows that I was,” Dillashaw said. “I think he’s scared, and I want to prove that. He’s saying all this nonsense that I wasn’t worthy when I was in the pound-for-pound rankings. I feel like that was a pretty big slap in the face, and I’m going to bring it back to him.”
“This is a way to put a stamp on my legacy,” Dillashaw said. “I was a little hurt losing that split decision [to Dominick Cruz] and not being on a 13-fight win streak and being called the pound-for-pound best in the world. In my mind, I should be No. 1. So it comes down to beating Demetrious Johnson to prove I’m the best, and it’s a huge thing for my legacy to be the double champ in two weight classes.
“I’m not a Conor McGregor. I’m going to be active defending my belts. I’m not afraid to fight.”
