UFC RESULTS: T.J Dillashaw finishes Cody Garbrandt, regains bantam weight belt.
The UFC’s bantamweight belt was on the line in the UFC 217 co-main events, as the #2 ranked T.J. Dillashaw knocked out Cody Garbrandt to once again become the UFC’s 135-pound king. Dillashaw overcame being dropped at the end of the opening round to rally back and secure the win. The former teammates hugged it out after the fight, so perhaps the bad blood has been diluted a bit. Bantamweight title fight between current champion Cody Garbrandt and T.J. Dillashaw served as the co-main event of UFC 217 in New York.
Garbrandt, defending his UFC bantamweight title against his former Team Alpha Male teammate and current rival.
T.J Dillashaw vs. Cody Gabrandt
Main Card:
T.J. Dillashaw def. Cody Garbrandt by Knockout at 2:42 of round 2: Bantamweight Title
There was no touch of gloves to start of this high stakes grudge match, but surprisingly, there was a bit of a feeling out process between the former teammates.
Round 1 begins: Cody comes out quickly. Dillashaw switches stances. Cody throws a low kick. Dillashaw catches Cody with a nice knee to the body. Garbrandt circles out. T.J with a low kick, Cody responds with a left hand over the top. T.J fakes a spinning back fist. Cody comes forward with a head kick that is blocked. T.J presses forward. He misses with a head kick. Cody circles out and then lands a nice kick to the body.
T.J is using a lot of movement. Cody presses forward with a combination those lands. T.J fires back with a wild right. Garbrandt tells him to bring it on. Both men are throwing wildly now. Cody with a beautiful left hook. T.J leaps in with a front kick and then follows that strike up with a low kick. Both men are having trouble finding their range. T.J with a right hand. Cody replies with a jab. Another nice right hand from Dillashaw. Cody circles. T.J comes forward but Cody catches him with a right hand. Seems like T.J hits the deck.
At about the midpoint into the opening round, Garbrandt unleashed a flurry that got the attention of Dillashaw.Dillashaw came out launching kicks in the second frame, and Garbrandt seemed wise to the bulk of them, until Dillashaw went high and dropped the defending champ. Dillashaw clipped Garbrandt with a massive punch, and followed up with some killer ground and pound, not giving Garbrandt a chance to recover. Cody charges in with punches but the horn sounds to end round one.
Round 2 begins: T.J just misses with a high kick attempt. Rather Dillashaw is looking for some big strikes now. He throws a body kick and then a low kick. Cody is smiling at T.J. catches him with a high kick and Garbrandt drops. T.J rushes in but Cody pops back up to his feet. Garbrandt with a nice combination. He seems to be OK. Cody with a low kick. T.J paws with a jab. Dillashaw with a massive right and Cody goes down. He leaps on him with punches.
In Conclusion, from there, it was a matter of time until the fight was waved off, as Most Noteworthy Garbrandt (11-1) lost for the first time in his career.
“He’s a hell of a fighter, he’s young, he’s going to be back,” T.J said of Garbrandt. “The kid’s tough, he hits hard. You can condition your chin. I got caught with a big right but I bounced right back.”