Dillashaw won the title by beating Barão and later defended it against J. Soto. Photo: Josh Hedges/UFC
In May of last year, TJ Dillashaw shocked the world by dominating Renan Barao at UFC 173 and win the bantamweight belt of the biggest MMA organization on the planet. Although, at the time, it was one of the biggest surprises ever to occur in the sport, Dillashaw guarantees that, this time, he will have an even easier job against the Brazilian in the rematch, which will take place this Saturday (25).
See too
The North American and Barão will face each other in the main fight of UFC on FOX 16, in the city of Chicago, in the United States. Dillashaw believes that physical conditioning will be his biggest advantage in the fight, especially given the problems Barão has faced in the past when cutting weight.
The two were supposed to face each other again in August 2014, at UFC 177. However, on the eve of the fight, Barão passed out while trying to reach the weight class, 61 kg, and was cut from the fight. Thus, the Brazilian was unable to avenge the knockout suffered in the fifth round in the first fight between the two.
“I see myself finishing the fight even faster. I have a big advantage for several reasons. He carries a lot of weight on his body, so he gets tired in his fights, whereas I train with the weight I'm going to fight with. I'm focusing on the fight, not the scale. He has extra pressure on the weight cut, so I should be faster and better conditioned. I know that no one works harder than me. I'm in shape and I did everything the right way”, analyzed Dillashaw, in an interview with the North American newspaper “Los Angeles Times”.
This will be Dillashaw's second title defense. At UFC 177, with Barão's cut, the champion ended up facing Joe Soto, whom he also knocked out in the fifth round.
[vox id=”29423″]
Comments