TJ (photo) will defend his second belt. Photo: Josh Hedges/UFC
Since the triumph of Dominick Cruz against Takeya Mizugaki in August this year, in his return to the Octagon after almost three years, it is determined that the former champion will be the next challenger for the bantamweight title. The duel, however, was conditional on the recovery of the current belt holder, TJ Dillashaw, who underwent shoulder surgery and whose return to the Octagon had no estimated time frame. However, on Wednesday night (19), Dillashaw's manager revealed that the champion's desire is to face Cruz at the beginning of next year.
In a conversation reported by journalist Ariel Helwani on the “UFC Tonight” program, the organization's official newspaper on North American TV, agent Mike Roberts said that Dillashaw has already removed the splint he wore on his arm after the operation and has begun the process of returning gradual training. With this, the plans of the athlete and his manager are that the duel against Dominick Cruz be marked “as soon as possible”, in Roberts’ own words.
As Ultimate has already released its complete calendar for 2015, it is possible to deduce the possible date of TJ Dillashaw e Dominick Cruz. With January being a very close date in terms of preparation, the likely first card would be UFC 184, on February 28th. However, the event already has two title fights, middleweight and women's bantamweight, in the main fights and it is practically impossible for it to receive a third title fight. Therefore, the most likely is that the duel will take place at UFC 185, scheduled for March 14th, with no location yet defined.
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