TJ Dillashaw just secured his spot as the undisputed bantamweight champ once again by knocking out Cody Garbrandt at UFC 227 over the weekend. And Olympic gold medalist Henry Cejudo used his power and wrestling to upset longtime champ Demetrious Johnson for the flyweight belt.
Following Cejudo’s win, he voiced on the mic that he would like to move up in weight to challenge the winner of the Dillashaw-Garbrandt main event for the 135-pound title. That winner turned out to be Dillashaw, and his coach Duane “Bang” Ludwig, told Ariel Helwani on Monday that he is also interested in that fight, but wants TJ to drop down to 125 to challenge Cejudo for his new belt.
Via ESPN:
Duane Ludwig, coach of UFC bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw, told ESPN’s Ariel Helwani that he wants his fighter to drop down and face UFC flyweight champion Henry Cejudo at 125 pounds next. After that bout, he would come back up to bantamweight to face Dominick Cruz. Dillashaw defeated Cody Garbrandt by first-round TKO on Saturday in Los Angeles.
Everybody is on the two-belt kick now wanting to follow in the footsteps of light heavyweight champ Daniel Cormier who recently made history by winning the heavyweight championship as well.
While it’s understandable why Ludwig would be wanting the best situation for his fighter, most level-headed thinkers would agree Demetrious Johnson deserves an immediate rematch at 125-pounds before Cejudo should get a shot at another title or before someone else, even Dillashaw, gets a crack at the flyweight belt. After winning the inaugural UFC flyweight title in Sept. 2012 and defending it against all comers regularly for nearly six years, Johnson has earned that right.