It would appear that newly crowned UFC bantamweight champion T.J. Dillashaw has some heated words for former title holder Dominick Cruz, as well as for flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson.
Before Dillashaw and Garbrandt were rescheduled for UFC 217, Dillashaw made an effort to lock down a match up against the UFC flyweight champion. “Mighty Mouse” was gearing up for a big fight, as the competitor was one win away from breaking the UFC record for most consecutive title defenses. However, Dillashaw was not able to land the fight. Instead, Johnson went on to face Ray Borg and successfully break the UFC record.
Speaking on if the new bantamweight champion is still interested in facing “Mighty Mouse,” Dillashaw appeared on the recent edition of The MMA Hour to explain that he doubts much has changed on Johnson’s end.
Here is what T.J. Dillashaw had to say, as transcribed by MMA Fighting:
“He was scared the first time, so I’d imagine he’s still scared now too. I respect Demetrious Johnson. I respect him as a human being. He always acts like a professional, he’s a nice guy, but that still doesn’t mean that I can’t say that he’s scared to fight me.”
“I do respect him, I respect his choices and he’s got an awesome little family and stuff, but it’s time to man up. This isn’t about liking or disliking me. This is about the fight that needs to happen.”
As far as former champion Dominick Cruz is concerned, Dillashaw is not looking to grant the fighter a title shot anytime soon.
“Cruz can suck it, man. He’s the one who made me wait forever. He knew he should’ve given me that rematch. He was scared. He thought he was cherry-picking by picking Cody. He was trying to hold onto that belt, get as much as he could.
“So if it’s up to me, he can wait. He can wait as long as I did. I couldn’t care less. I mean, I do want to beat that guy. I do want to smash because I know that I can, but I don’t care what he says. I’m going for the fight that makes the most sense for me right now, and that’s Demetrious Johnson, and I’ll do whatever it takes to get it.”
