UFC227 TJ Dillashaw v Cody Garbrandt-The Battle Of Redemption

UFC227 TJ Dillashaw v Cody Garbrandt-The Battle Of Redemption

By Dan McConnell

At UFC227 inside the Staples Centre California, there have been many storylines that have unfolded inside the WWE ring in this arena, high-drama is about to unfold in the UFC octagon on Saturday night. Current UFC Bantamweight Champion TJ Dillashaw takes on former team-mate turned enemy Cody Garbrandt.

Both the main-event and co-main events are rematches. But the main-event just isn’t any rematch, the two competitors have a fierce history with their opponent that only adds fuel to the fire and why the victor on the night will covet winning the UFC’s ultimate prize even more than usual.

TJ Dillashaw v Cody Garbrandt

The main event carries a storyline that has been brewing even before their first fight at UFC 217. The heated rivalry, hatred even stems from inside the Team Alpha Male camp. Both TJ and Cody were training partners at TAM and had a pretty good relationship, helping each other progress their careers while progressing their understanding for the sport of mixed martial arts.

Both men featured on the UFC’s reality series The Ultimate Fighter 22: Team McGregor v Team Faber. Both fighters picked to be on Urijah Faber’s team who was also coach at Team Alpha Male and knew each fighter well. This series was recorded after Conor McGregor’s victory over Chad Mendes to win the UFC Interim-Featherweight title, he would go on to face champion Jose Aldo.

During the series Conor McGregor heightened his media attention coming off with some incredible and memorable lines that have been re-played to this day. McGregor got into a confrontation with Faber while TJ Dillashaw walked past, pointing out that Dillashaw was ‘a little snake in the grass’ in regards to him training half of his camp away from TAM with Duane Ludwig, who was brought in by TAM as Striking Coach and a former Kickboxing Champion as well as striking genius of the sport. Faber and TAM seemed to have no issue with having TJ on their team at this time, it was McGregor who ultimately triggered this thought which sparked the feud into life. McGregor doing McGregor things right?

‘Bang’ Ludwig was setting up his own gym in Colorado Elevation Fight Team, where TJ would go out now and again to train with him and UFC fighters like Cub Swanson and Neil Magny. At this stage Dillashaw and Ludwig developed a special fighter-coach relationship, as both seen the talent TJ possessed and how the former Kickboxing champion turned coach would help develop the career path of his fighter. Dillashaw decided to move out to train with Duane and this is where the animosity began. It didn’t go down well training at other camps while still affiliated with TAM.

You’d think to learn the variety of mixed martial arts techniques this can only benefit a fighter, but it is somewhat frowned upon. In TJ’s case he made the best career decision for him and follows the coach that was responsible for making him TJ a champion during his first title reign. His high level of striking and unorthodox movement is something TJ wouldn’t have learned at TAM without the help from coach Duane Ludwig and is loyal to him ever since. The feud to me just seems a little forced mixed with Cody’s short fuse and temper that can flare from time to time.

So understandably Cody v TJ was first booked there was a lot of hatred and bad blood between the two. This made for an interesting TUF series which Dillashaw and Garbrandt appeared on as coaches this time and not fighters. At UFC 217 in Madison Square Garden, TJ got the better over Cody and Team Alpha Male by knocking out former champion Garbrandt in the second round to take over as the UFC’s reining 135-pound champion and hold the title aloft for a second time.

The rematch was re-booked despite the outcome of the first fight and how TJ thought Cody was undeserving of an immediate rematch. TJ wants to finally end the rivalry between the two, while Cody hopes to reclaim the Bantammweight title TJ defeated him for first time out.

During the fighters face-offs this week, Cody has looked a lot more relaxed than he did in the first showdown and everything that comes with the first media obligations he seems less emotional. While Dillashaw seems to be trying to get on the nerves of Garbrandt to make him snap and invest emotionally in the contest again, which was his downfall in the first.

Will the epic rivalry be concluded? Or will this fight set up a trilogy in the future?