What a crazy night.
The UFC bantamweight title is back around TJ Dillashaw’s waist after an incredible fight with rival Cody Garbrandt.
The former teammates met in the centre of the Octagon in Madison Square Garden on Saturday night and there was bad blood from the outset.
Garbrandt decided against touching gloves with Dillashaw after referee Dan Miragliotta issued his instructions but ‘No Love’ remained stony-faced throughout the opening half of the first stanza.
But the defending champion unleashed a breathless combination at the midway point of the round and, as the buzzer sounded, Garbrandt let rip with a brutal right hook which sent Dillashaw back to his stool on wobbly legs, staring at an unkind gesture.
The champ @Cody_Nolove flips off TJ Dillashaw as he floors him at the end of the first! #UFC217 pic.twitter.com/OVO1VajhB2
— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) November 5, 2017
The dance moves of ‘No Love’, first seen when he claimed his title against Dominick Cruz last December, showed themselves in the early stages of the second and he looked considerably more comfortable on the feet up to the point that he ate a head kick from Dillashaw, a strike which spun the fight on its head.
Garbrandt’s willingness to stand with Dillashaw in the pocket was ultimately the downfall of the previously undefeated fighter as a right hook sent him to the canvas.
Wow TJ Dillashaw Wins by Knockout over Cody Garbrandt #UFC217 #AndNew pic.twitter.com/kUSeTRDTfj
— Joe p (@Joey_Purg) November 5, 2017
Relentless ground and pound robbed Garbrandt of his senses and the referee had no choice but to step in and confirm Dillashaw’s second spell as 135lbs king.
Just moments earlier, the only other fighter who came into UFC 217 with a championship belt and an undefeated record was stopped as Joanna Jedrzejczyk was put away by Rose Namajunas with the strawweight title on the line.
