Tag: TJ Dillashaw

T.J. Dillashaw and the Biggest Title Fight Upsets in Recent Memory

In a sport of upsets, Team Alpha Male stalwart T.J. Dillashaw secured his place in MMA upset history at UFC 173 on Saturday at the MGM’s Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
Over seven years removed from Matt Serra’s upset win over George St-Pierre at UFC …

In a sport of upsets, Team Alpha Male stalwart T.J. Dillashaw secured his place in MMA upset history at UFC 173 on Saturday at the MGM’s Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

Over seven years removed from Matt Serra’s upset win over George St-Pierre at UFC 69, Dillashaw seized his moment and TKO’d former longtime champ Renan Barao to score a monumental upset victory.

Dillashaw overcame overwhelming odds to defeat Barao, who hadn’t tasted defeat in 33 fights heading into the bout.

The win puts Dillashaw in an elite category of MMA fighters who pulled off remarkable upsets in recent memory.

Here’s a short list (which won’t include any classic shockers like Serra over St-Pierre or Maurice Smith over Mark Coleman) of some of the most memorable recent title-fight upsets.

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TJ Dillashaw: New Bantamweight Champ Is Best Team Alpha Male Fighter Ever

Behold TJ Dillashaw, the true alpha male on a team of betas. Okay, so that’s not entirely true, the rest of Team Alpha Male are all excellent fighters in their own right.
But after UFC 173, one would have to assume Dillashaw could be labeled as the bes…

Behold TJ Dillashaw, the true alpha male on a team of betas. Okay, so that’s not entirely true, the rest of Team Alpha Male are all excellent fighters in their own right.

But after UFC 173, one would have to assume Dillashaw could be labeled as the best Team Alpha Male fighter ever.

Now before you scroll down to the bottom to light up the comments section about how Urijah Faber built the featherweight division or was king of the WEC for years, just hear me out.

I’ll start this off with a bit of compromise with the Faber fans; Faber’s time in the WEC is one of the most dominant runs in MMA history. Faber went 21-1 en route to help building the featherweight division to relevancy and virtually carrying the WEC brand on his back.

There’s also his time in the UFC to consider as well. Faber has been the best fighter outside of the champion in the bantamweight division during his time in the UFC. If your name isn’t Dominick Cruz, it goes without saying that you’re not going to win against Faber.

Yet, for all his accomplishments, the one thing that has eluded “The California Kid” is a UFC title. It’s a sentiment shared by many of his teammates as Chad Mendes and Joseph Benavidez have both fallen short in their previous title bids.

It’s not a feeling currently shared by Dillashaw, however.

That’s because Dillashaw did the impossible at UFC 173 by taking out the seemingly invincible Renan Barao. Dillashaw capped off a great performance by finishing Barao in the fifth round of their UFC 173 headlining bout.

Dillashaw didn’t lose a round the entire fight.

With the win, Dillashaw eclipsed the accomplishments made by his Team Alpha Male counterparts. For all the good Faber did while in the WEC, nobody remembers who wins the AFC/NFC Championship titles each year. It’s all about the Super Bowl.

And for Dillashaw, he has that equivalent to a Super Bowl ring.

He’s also entering the prime of his career at just 28 years of age. His improvements since Duane Ludwig began coaching him have not only shown in terms of wins, it’s shown in his performances as Dillashaw has looked better each time out.

Dillashaw has that signature win now that he’s defeated Barao and has the UFC gold to validate his status as the best of the bantamweight division. He’s also validated his status as the top fighter at Team Alpha Male.

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UFC 173 Fight Video: Watch TJ Dillashaw Upend Renan Barao for Bantamweight Belt

We have a new champion.
Heavy underdog T.J. Dillashaw battered and upended Brazilian dynamo Renan Barao at UFC 173 Saturday night to capture the UFC bantamweight belt. 
The official result was a TKO victory at 2:22 of the fifth and final round.
“I…

We have a new champion.

Heavy underdog T.J. Dillashaw battered and upended Brazilian dynamo Renan Barao at UFC 173 Saturday night to capture the UFC bantamweight belt. 

The official result was a TKO victory at 2:22 of the fifth and final round.

“I’ve dreamed this for so long,” Dillashaw said in his post-fight comments. “Barao’s the best in the world in my eyes…that’s what brought it out in me.”

Dillashaw served notice early on that this would not be a normal fight for Barao. The challenger charged forward often and toward the end of the first round cracked and floored Barao with a heavy right hand. Though Dillashaw was unable to finish the fight at that moment despite a swarm of follow-up strikes, the blow appeared to put a fog on Barao that never fully lifted.

Nevertheless, the Brazilian fought gamely as the rounds wore on, landing leg kicks and stifling several takedown attempts from the former Cal State Fullerton wrestler. Through it all, though, Dillashaw remained light on his feet, staying clear of Barao‘s attack and stalking down the champion when the openings arose.

Barao finally succumbed in the fifth frame, but there was no fluke about this one. Dillashaw was the better and more aggressive fighter from horn to horn. And now he’s the new UFC bantamweight champion.

According to official UFC statistics provider FightMetric, Dillashaw landed 140 of 309 significant strikes, for a 45 percent clip. Barao, by contrast, connected on just 64 of 273 significant strike attempts, for a 23 percent success rate.

It was the first professional loss for Barao since his professional debut, all the way back in 2005.

The 28-year-old Dillashaw, who first gained notoriety as a cast member on the 14th season of The Ultimate Fighter, is now 10-2 as a pro. Barao, 27, is now 32-2 (1).

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TJ Dillashaw Re-Legitimizes ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ as Talent Source at UFC 173

The Ultimate Fighter has never been 100 percent embraced by MMA fans. You can’t downplay its importance, of course, because The Ultimate Fighter Season 1 and the bout between Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonnar was the turning point for the sport in Ame…

The Ultimate Fighter has never been 100 percent embraced by MMA fans. You can’t downplay its importance, of course, because The Ultimate Fighter Season 1 and the bout between Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonnar was the turning point for the sport in America. 

But how good were any of the fighters, really?

How can it be pitched as a starting place for future champions when…well…no champions have come from it since Season 2? When Rashad Evans is the last guy to have won a belt? When Jon Jones, Frankie Edgar, Johny Hendricks, Chris Weidman, on and on, never came from The Ultimate Fighter?

How can it be billed as sports when there is all of this nonsense? Shouting “let me bang, bro” and peeing on beds…these are the guys that the UFC puts forward as faces of the sport? 

How can it be pitched as a legitimate source of talent when even its winners, guys such as Efrain Escudero and Kendall Grove, wash out of the promotion?

Well, times have changed, ladies and gentlemen. While you wouldn’t expect it to come from one single event, The Ultimate Fighter has been re-legitimized as a source of talent.

TUF 18 winner Chris Holdsworth was the first season winner to kick the night off. The lanky bantamweight utterly dominated Chico Camus with his crafty groundwork, taking a handy 30-27 unanimous-decision win. The win arguably vaults him right into the bantamweight top 10, and at the very least, it makes him somebody to watch in the division.

TUF 13 winner Tony Ferguson followed that up with an even more impressive win. Against wild Japanese striker Katsunori Kikuno, he adjusted to his Wushu stance and started freely landing hard punches. Like Holdsworth, he suddenly finds himself as a major player in the upper half of the lightweight division.

TUF 15 winner Michael Chiesa? No big deal…just a dominant win over Francisco Trinaldo that advances his UFC record to 4-1.

Last but not least? It wasn’t a TUF winner who took top prize…but TUF 14 bantamweight runner-up TJ Dillashaw.

The Team Alpha Male product absolutely dominated Renan Barao, making the fighter who was comically labeled as the top pound-for-pound fighter in MMA look downright amateurish as he delivered unanswered strikes for, essentially, the entire fight.

Naturally, that is causing many to take a second look at the recent seasons of The Ultimate Fighter. While Seasons 6 through 11 provided the UFC with just a handful of middling fighters (the toast of those years would likely be heavyweight gatekeeper Roy Nelson), more recent seasons are providing many legitimately interesting talents.

Following UFC 173, it’s hard not to be reminded that ranked fighters such as John Dodson, Myles Jury and Michael Johnson all came in from TUF. It’s also hard not to suddenly be very bullish on the future outlook for fighters such as Julianna Pena, Dennis Bermudez and Luke Barnatt.

It’s a fast but very welcome change that has me thinking “Hey…maybe I actually should start watching The Ultimate Fighter again…”

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UFC 173: TJ Dillashaw and the Knockdown That Changed Everything

TJ Dillashaw shocked the world at UFC 173.
The No. 4-ranked contender was written off before the fight. The confident Team Alpha Male fighter knew something the majority of the world did not. He stepped into the cage and completely dominated Renan Bara…

TJ Dillashaw shocked the world at UFC 173.

The No. 4-ranked contender was written off before the fight. The confident Team Alpha Male fighter knew something the majority of the world did not. He stepped into the cage and completely dominated Renan Barao for more than four rounds before finishing the fight.

Everything changed in the very first round when Dillashaw dropped the champion.

When Barao fell, the crowd arose. There was a sense that Dillashaw was the real deal, and he could very well upset the champion.

The challenger looked sharp from the get-go. His footwork and head movement were reminiscent of former champion Dominick Cruz. He was fast. Dillashaw was in and out quickly. He attacked up and down with punches and kicks.

It was the perfect send-off for head coach Duane Ludwig, who will now leave Team Alpha Male. His protege perfected the game plan to destroy a top pound-for-pound fighter.

He feinted effectively. Barao looked befuddled at the movement.

Dillashaw connected on Barao, and when the power shot came to floor the Brazilian, the fight looked like it could be over quickly. The champion was able to survive, but Dillashaw stayed within himself not to blow his gas tank going for a finish that was unlikely to happen.

Following the knockdown, Barao was finished.

He never recovered. He looked slow, plodding and like he was thinking too much. Dillashaw had him confused. He was never sure as to what Dillashaw was going to do next. It was a masterful performance that earned Dillashaw a Performance of the Night bonus.

There are not enough adjectives to accurately state how stellar Dillashaw was at UFC 173.

The opening round of the main event was reminiscent of Randy Couture vs. Tim Sylvia from UFC 68 in Columbus, Ohio.

Couture clocked Sylvia with a big shot early in the fight, and Sylvia never recovered. Couture rode out the decision victory, but Dillashaw was able to finish his fight against Barao. It highlights how difficult it is to recover from a devastating knockdown early in a fight and how drastically it can alter a bout.

Even without the knockdown, it was going to be a difficult fight for Barao. That is how on point Dillashaw was on Saturday.

Who knows how this fight plays out if Dillashaw does not land that early knockdown blow. What we do know is that after Dillashaw landed that punch, Barao was never able to get back into the fight. It was the moment that changed everything.

Dillashaw stole the show and became the new bantamweight champion in the process.

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UFC 173: Recapping the Fight Night Bonuses

UFC 173 was an exciting event. There were quality performances throughout the card, but only two would earn some extra money. And only one fight could earn the title of Fight of the Night.
UFC President Dana White and Co. had some tough decisions to ma…

UFC 173 was an exciting event. There were quality performances throughout the card, but only two would earn some extra money. And only one fight could earn the title of Fight of the Night.

UFC President Dana White and Co. had some tough decisions to make.

TJ Dillashaw became the new UFC bantamweight titleholder, Daniel Cormier dominated Dan Henderson and Robbie Lawler outclassed Jake Ellenberger. And those were only the premier bouts that everyone was anticipating on Saturday night in Las Vegas. 

The undercard also delivered. But who would come away with some extra checks?

Let’s take a look at your performance bonus winners.

 

Performance of the Night: Mitch Clarke

Mitch Clarke had one of the more surprising performances at UFC 173.

Al Iaquinta was dominating the action. Clarke was not being outclassed, but Iaquinta was controlling the action. Clarke looked out of sorts.

Iaquinta gave the savvy Clarke a small window of opportunity, and in MMA that is all it takes.

Clarke laced up a brabo choke and put Iaquinta to sleep in a matter of seconds. Iaquinta went seemingly cross-eyed as Clarke squeezed the air out of him. It was a serene violence. The submission put Clarke on the map in the division, and it earned him a little extra pocket change.

 

Performance of the Night: TJ Dillashaw

There was no question that Dillashaw was going to earn a performance bonus on Saturday.

His championship-winning performance could be the performance of the year thus far in MMA. It was a complete domination of one of the pound-for-pound best fighters in the world. The speed, footwork and head movement confused Barao in each and every round.

Dillashaw looked simply phenomenal.

This was a special performance by Dillashaw, and one that fans should not take for granted. These performances are rarely seen.

 

Fight of the Night: TJ Dillashaw vs. Renan Barao

It is not often that we see a one-sided affair win Fight of the Night, but that is how special Dillashaw‘s performance was.

It ignited the crowd.

The stunning showing from the challenger, now champion, put fans on their feet. It was something unexpected. More importantly for this award, it was non-stop action. Dillashaw did not stop moving. He was in, out and around Barao for nearly 25 minutes of action.

Barao recovered from a near knockout in the first round, but he could never get into the fight. He connected a few times. Dillashaw was too good on Saturday. He looked the role of a pound-for-pound great. He took what Barao had. All of the momentum is now his.

Dillashaw never relented. He never took his foot off the gas pedal. He did not leave this fight in the hands of the judges. He went out and finished the champion in the fifth and final round. He did exactly what was needed to make himself a star in this sport.

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