TJ Dillashaw Trolls Cody Garbrandt After Turning Down Rematch

Cody Garbrandt

After Max Holloway was forced out of his UFC 222 headliner versus Frankie Edgar earlier today, UFC bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw was not keen on rumors of a late-replacement rematch with Cody Garbrandt, and he revealed plenty of reasons to feel that way.

For one, Dillashaw was not offered an immediate rematch after dropping an incredibly close decision to Dominick Cruz in 2015, even though many fans believed he had won. Instead, Dillashaw had to work his way back up the division before knocking out Garbrandt to recapture the bantamweight belt.

Dillashaw has remained steadfast in his mission to dethrone Demetrious Johnson at flyweight, with no plans to rematch Garbrandt anytime soon.

READ MORE:  Conor McGregor backs Ryan Garcia after upset win over Devin Haney: 'Drink responsibly every night'

“The Viper” spoke to ESPN and laid out his reasoning behind his denial of giving Garbrandt the rematch that he himself never got with Cruz:

Naturally, Garbrandt has been pushing hard for a rematch with his foe, often taking to social media to hammer that point home and draw Dillashaw into a firefight:

https://twitter.com/Cody_Nolove/status/959922961141587972?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.lowkickmma.com%2Fwp-admin%2Fpost.php%3Fpost%3D417601%26action%3Dedit

Although both men had their moments at UFC 217, Dillashaw ultimately overcame a brutal first round where he was nearly knocked out, before turning the tables and knocking out Garbrandt in the second.

READ MORE:  Tom Aspinall confirms return on UFC 304 card in Manchester, waiting on fight agreement: 'I'll be announcing it soon'

Dillashaw also pointed to the fact that he now has a newborn child in his life, and isn’t focused on Garbrandt at the moment, to which the former champion took exception:

https://twitter.com/Cody_Nolove/status/959927570715238400?s=17

Do you think Garbrandt deserves an immediate rematch against Dillashaw? Or should he have to work his way back up like Dillashaw had to do after losing the belt to Cruz?