...OH, ONE MORE THING - PLEASE BOOKMARK US & VISIT DAILY!
What are your impressions of T.J. Dillashaw after his spectacular performance on Saturday at UFC on Fox 16? What's next for him, and how do you think he matches up against the next series of likely contenders?
MICHAEL BANE, MMATORCH CONTRIBUTOR
T.J. Dillashaw is must-see TV for me now. He's a bantamweight that knocks people out, utilizing amazing technique and speed. His footwork is incredibly instinctual at this point, and his ability to be where his opponent is not expecting is uncanny. Putting Dillashaw on free TV ended up being about the smartest thing the UFC could do, as a performance like that can only help when it comes to drawing eyeballs to a generally ignored weight class.
You can put T.J. Dillashaw vs. Dominick Cruz right up there with Weidman vs. Rockhold and Lawler vs. Condit as far as fights I want to see. Cruz is fast, fires strikes with pinpoint accuracy, and has a wrestling background. Sound much like Dillashaw? Assuming that Cruz were to come into the fight fully healthy, I'm not entirely sure how to pick this one. Both have exceptional footwork and movement. Both have the ability to hit their opponent, and make themselves hard to hit (despite the shots Dillashaw unnecessarily took in the first round of his fight on Saturday). They both have exceptionally high fight IQs, work ethics, and mental toughness. I'm leaning toward Dillashaw at the moment, but that's largely due to Cruz's health and ring rust being unknowns.
I think Dillashaw beats Raphael Assuncao. There's an argument to be made he already beat him. Assuncao has shown himself to be a good fighter, but the improvements Dillashaw has made put him a tier above Brazilian. A fight against Frankie Edgar would be a much more interesting proposition. Edgar fights much more by the book and predictably than Dillashaw. His technique is also fantastic, but he's much more methodical in his approach than Dillashaw. Edgar is also one of the strongest pound-for-pound fighters in the UFC. Do you remember him picking up and slamming 170 lb. lightweights as an undersized lightweight himself? Pushing around a 135 pounder is going to be even easier. I really see a fight between these two (Edgar can make 135 lbs. without much difficulty) coming down to how well Edgar's speed translates in that fight. Edgar can take a hell of a beating, to the point where I sometimes fear for his health, so I don't expect Dillashaw's punches to put him in much danger of being knocked out.
DAN MOORE, MMATORCH UK COLUMNIST
After re-watching their first fight I fully expected Dillashaw to beat Barao, but that was an even better performance than the first time. Dillashaw was outstanding, and that's an understatement. His brilliant footwork, blistering jab, tremendous movement, and power with accuracy in almost every punch were fantastic to watch. It's hard to find a criticism, although he did take a few unnecessary risks in front of Barao. It was pure confidence though because he knew the Brazilian had nothing that could beat him.
Dominick Cruz should be next for Dillashaw. Personally I would rather see the former champion take another fight first, but he did that last year against Takeya Mizugaki (UFC 178) and then broke down again. This time the UFC should strike while the iron is hot and give Cruz a shot as soon as he's ready to go. If that doesn't happen they can make the Raphael Assuncao rematch providing the Brazilian can also get healthy. There are plenty of up and coming young contenders in this division and the UFC need to clear the path to freshen things up.
FRANK HYDEN, MMATORCH CONTRIBUTOR
Dillashaw was so incredibly impressive. He trucked the guy who dominated the division. Joe Rogan went way overboard during the fight (especially for an announcer) but it was an incredible display.
As for how Dillashaw matches up against Cruz, Assuncao, etc, he's head and shoulders above them. Cruz at his best would be a tremendous matchup for Dillashaw, but I think it's extremely unfair to expect Cruz to return at or anywhere near his peak. The guy has fought once in almost four years. It's insane to expect him to be able to beat a guy like Dillashaw in his return.
I think Dillashaw runs circles around all these guys and outworks them. There are only two guys who I think could match up with Dillashaw. One is John Dodson, who did beat Dillashaw, though that was also four years ago. I think Dodson has more than enough speed to battle Dillashaw. The other guy is the current UFC Flyweight Champion Demetrious Johnson, who is so quick that he could keep up with Dillashaw. Johnson also has the cardio to hang with the Bantamweight Champ and not get gassed like Renan Barao did.
TOM STRONG, MMATORCH UK CONTRIBUTOR
T.J. Dillashaw once again looked fantastic defeating Renan Barao. I thought we'd see a different Barao turn up Saturday night than the one we saw in the first fight, and to an extent we did. Still, he looks a completely different fighter to just over a year ago when he wasted little time dispatching Urijah Faber inside the first round. The weight cut is obviously having a negative effect on Barao, hopefully with a move up in weight to the featherweight division we will once again see the best of him.
Taking nothing away from Dillashaw, his performance was first class, and he's starting to look like a champion now. His footwork and movement is some of the best I've seen, and it's fantastic to watch, though it'll be interesting to see how he compares when he locks horns with the real champion Dominic Cruz. I'm not so sure Dillashaw will get his own way with Cruz like he did Barao because he's a different beast altogether with contrasting styles, but it's a fight that must happen, and hopefully once Cruz has healed up it gets the green light.
As Rick Flair once famously said "To be the man, you got the beat the man," and I'm sure more than anyone Dillashaw is eager for this fight to take place. A victory over Cruz not only silences the critics, it'll also leave no doubt he really is the UFC Bantamweight Champion!
CASH NORMAN, MMATORCH CONTRIBUTOR
In Dillashaw's fight against Barao, I think he looked and performed great; however, he still leaves openings to get hit. Dillashaw stood stationary in front of Barao for longer periods in this fight than their previous bout, but his striking and combinations were much cleaner and quicker this time around.
As far as what's next for Dillashaw, most fight fans are clamoring for a match with Dominick Cruz. Although I would also love to see that fight and Cruz is on his soap box decrying Dillashaw is a "wannabe," I have a hard time believing Cruz can even make it to the fight if it is scheduled.
If Cruz doesn't fight until 2016, he'll have been sidelined by injuries for about four years, with only the Takeya Mizugaki fight happening in that time. I understand when you're an elite fighter and are facing stiff competition injuries will occur, but when you're injured longer than you've actively fought in the UFC, that's a problem and a huge red flag. The recurring injuries Cain Velasquez suffers is one of the main reasons I couldn't get on board with him.
While I cannot definitively state that Cruz would win if a match occurred between Dillashaw and Cruz, how likely would it be for him to be able to defend they belt within a year if he did? If you look at his track record it's not very likely.
I think the possibility of Frankie Edgar fighting T.J. Dillashaw is very likely. Not only do I think that's the weight class Edgar should be fighting, it's a fight that makes sense. If Dillashaw can avenge his loss to Raphael Assuncao later on this year, I could easily see Edgar facing Dillashaw at the beginning of 2016; especially if Dominick Cruz hasn't returned.
DAYNE FOX, MMATORCH CONTRIBUTOR
It's impossible to not be impressed by Dillashaw's performance. We all thought he looked great in the first go-around with Barao and he come out even better this time around. His strikes were more powerful, he was better in the clinch than Barao, showed a stiff jab, and was unpredictable with his strikes, making it impossible to know what was coming next. Dillashaw isn't a P4P great yet, but he is well on his way there if his trajectory continues in the direction that it's going. What he needs is someone to push him.
That's what is going to limit him. Dominick Cruz is likely his next opponent... if he can stay healthy. We still don't know what version of Cruz we are going to see, as he has now had BOTH of his knees reconstructed and his unique footwork puts a lot of pressure on those knees. Yes, he looked fantastic against Takeya Mizugaki... but Dillashaw isn't Mizugaki, the fight was 69 seconds, and that was one knee surgery ago. I hope Cruz can push him, but I feel like giving him a standing ovation just for making it to the Octagon. Not knowing if we'll ever see vintage Cruz again, I gotta say Dillashaw would beat him.
So Raphael Assuncao would be next in line, seeing as how he is riding a seven-fight win streak and owns a victory (contentious or not) over Dillashaw. But he hasn't been able to stay healthy as of late either! Assuncao is a more competitive match for Dillashaw than Barao is, but I still think he beats him. As for Edgar, I think he would be the most competitive fight against Dillashaw and have no idea how the fight would go as I'm not sure how much the weight cut to 135 lbs. would deplete Edgar.
I think Dillashaw's real tests will come in a few years when Thomas Almeida, Aljamain Sterling, or some other currently unforeseen challenger arise and are ready to make their stake cause right now the top is barren.
DON'T GO YET... WE SUGGEST THESE MMATORCH ARTICLES, TOO!
Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
STAFF COLUMNISTS: Shawn Ennis - Jason Amadi
Frank Hyden - Rich Hansen
Chris Park - Matt Pelkey
Interested in joining MMATorch's writing team? Send idea for a theme to your column (for Specialist section) or area of interest (i.e. TV Reporter) along with a sample of writing to mmatorch@gmail.com.
