IT’S THIRD TIME lucky for TJ Dillashaw and Renan Barao as their 14-month wait for a rematch comes to an end tonight.
Dillashaw, the UFC bantamweight champion, will defend his belt against Barao — a Nova Uniao team-mate of Jose Aldo’s — in the main event at UFC on FOX 16 at the United Centre in Chicago.
The rivalry between the pair extends back to May of last year when the unfancied Dillashaw caused one of the biggest upsets in UFC title bout history.
The Team Alpha Male product dominated Barao for four rounds before stopping him in the final frame via TKO at UFC 173 in Las Vegas. It was Barao’s first defeat in over nine years and it took the MMA world by surprise.
A rematch was immediately set for UFC 177 in Dillashaw’s native Sacramento for 30 August, but the day before the bout was due to take place Barao was taken to hospital due to difficulties with his weight cut.
The Brazilian was subsequently withdrawn from the fight and Joe Soto stepped in as a late replacement. It was Dillashaw’s only title defence to date and it ended in another fifth-round victory.
Barao returned to defeat Mitch Gagnon in December, after which the UFC made another attempt to schedule the rematch with Dillashaw. The fight was set for UFC 186 in Montreal on 25 April but again it fell through, with Dillashaw sustaining a rib injury in training.
However, there have been no complications on this occasion so Dillashaw and Barao will finally collide in tonight’s headliner. For the champ it’s about showing that his UFC 173 win was no fluke, while Barao is determined to prove that it was.
Given the dominant nature of his win over Barao last year, Dillashaw is a deserving 4/9 favourite with the bookmakers. However, considering how unbeatable he looked prior to falling to the current champion, 19/10 is a very attractive price for Barao.
The good news for Irish fans is that — for once — you won’t have to stay awake until 5am to watch a UFC title bout live. The main card starts at 1am Irish time and it’s a belter too, with Eye vs. Tate, Barboza vs. Felder and Lauzon vs. Gomi also on the bill.
The action — including four prelims — will be live on BT Sport 2 from 11pm, while the early prelims start on UFC Fight Pass at 9.15pm.
Main card (BT Sport 2, 1am)
TJ Dillashaw vs. Renan Barao
Jessica Eye vs. Miesha Tate
Edson Barboza vs. Paul Felder
Joe Lauzon vs. Takanori Gomi
TV prelims (BT Sport 2, 11pm)
Gian Villante vs. Tom Lawlor
Jim Miller vs. Danny Castillo
Kenny Robertson vs. Ben Saunders
Eddie Wineland vs. Bryan Caraway
Early prelims (UFCFightPass.com, 9.15pm)
Daron Cruickshank vs. James Krause
Ramsey Nijem vs. Andrew Holbrook
Jessamyn Duke vs. Elizabeth Phillips
Zak Cummings vs. Dominique Steele
