Things are heating up between T.J. Dillashaw and Cody Garbrandt on the eve of their UFC 227 rematch.
T.J. Dillashaw and Cody Garbrandt seemed to have put trash talk on the back-burner in the lead-up to their bantamweight championship rematch at UFC 227.
Compared to their first bout at UFC 217, which saw Dillashaw KO ex-teammate Garbrandt in the second round to win the bantamweight strap, the relationship between both men has been somewhat cordial.
That all changed at Wednesday’s open workouts, however, when ‘No Love’ fired shots at Dillashaw by calling him ‘classless’ after his win at UFC 217.
“He’s classless, that’s T.J., he’s always been like that,” Garbrandt said during a fan Q&A, per MMA Fighting’s Dave Doyle. “That’s who he is. It was classless. Win or lose, win I outclassed Dominick Cruz, I gave him my respect. T.J’s up in my face and flexing on my team, acting like a little as*hole. I remember every single thing, that’s what motivated me this whole entire camp, T.J. getting in my face after that fight.”
Dillashaw got up in Garbrandt’s face after the KO and started screaming at his opponent, admitting in the post-fight interview that emotions were high and he took his celebration a little too far.
“Did you guys hear me on the mic after the fight?” Dillashaw asked. “I had nothing but compliments for the guy. If anyone is classless, it went more in my direction.”
Garbrandt then switched the topic to Dillashaw’s upbringing in response to his opponent’s claim that he wasn’t deserving of an immediate rematch, claiming that TJ grew up with a ‘silver spoon in his mouth’ and has never faced any adversity in his life.
“I outclassed one of the best bantamweight champions in the world [Cruz], who outclassed him,” Garbrandt said. “if you watch that fight with TJ and Dominick, TJ was swinging at air, got outclassed, he said it was a close fight. And you know why? He feels entitled. He had a silver spoon in his mouth his whole life, you know what I mean? He doesn’t know anything about adversity, it’s always b*tch and cry. It takes two years to get back to the top, he said. OK, but you’re not knocking people out. I was knocking people out in the first round. That’s why I got the title shot over him.”
Dillashaw, the two-time bantamweight champ, defended his childhood upbringing and called Garbrandt a ‘jerk’ and a ‘bully’.
“I wouldn’t say I grew up with a silver spoon,” Dillashaw said. “Yeah, I was very fortunate. I have a great family. I was raised the right way, my parents did a great job, I owe them everything. Without them, I’m not the man I am today. I don’t have maybe the typical fighter story of having to grow up rough. I grew up great. I had to work my ass off to get anything I wanted. My first vehicle I had to buy it myself and work to get it. My dad was really hard on me.
“He’s trying to be a nice guy, he’s trying to flip the script,” Dillashaw added. “He was a jerk, a bully, and now I have so much ammo that he wants to smooth it over, be the nice guy now. It’s a little bit of a different situation. He can’t be a prick now.”
UFC 227: Dillashaw vs. Garbrandt 2 takes place this Saturday, August 4 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California.
