At UFC 217, Cody Garbrandt and T.J. Dillashaw finally got to settle their beef when the fought for the UFC bantamweight title. Dillashaw was victorious that night, knocking out Garbrandt in the second round. Afterwards, most fans assumed that “No Love” would have to work his way back up the mountain to get another crack at Dillashaw but, in a surprising move, the UFC eventually granted Garbrandt an immediate rematch, despite not being a long-reigning champion.

The two fought again at UFC 227 on Saturday but this time Dillashaw made even quicker work of Garbrandt, knocking him out in the first round. Before their rematch, Dillashaw said that Garbrandt got the opportunity because “he’s willing to make a fool of himself,” but now that the rivalry is settled, the bantamweight champion says that actually Garbrandt got the rematch because the UFC was invested in the former champion, and even though he’s now stopped Garbrandt twice, he is waiting for the UFC to give Garbrandt another at beating him.

“We agreed to [a fight with Demetrious Johnson] but then he had to get shoulder surgery and so the UFC was like, ‘We don’t know how long he’s gonna be out, we want you to fight Cody,’” Dillashaw said on the latest edition of Brendan Schaub’s Below the Belt. “I’m still waiting for a phone call right now from my manager saying, ‘Man, the UFC wants you to fight Cody again. They think it was a fluke.’ [Laughs]. You know what I mean?

“I’m just kidding. The UFC’s put so much money and time into that kid, they loved him. They were hard for that kid. They wanted to pump him up. Even the Embeddeds coming up to this fight - I’m the world f**king champion and it’s about him! Dude, it’s f**king ridiculous. I’m just waiting for this phone call saying, ‘They want you to fight Cody again.’ Sweet! Pay me some more money, I’ll knock his ass out again.”

With a third match-up with Garbrandt unlikely, Dillashaw can get down to the business of defending his title in one of the most talent-stacked divisions in MMA. Bantamweight currently has a backlog of worthy contenders who have been waiting on their shot at the belt, none more vocal than the former champion and man who dethroned Dillashaw the first time, Dominick Cruz, who has been calling for a title shot with Dillashaw since his win. The only problem there is that Cruz hasn’t fought since he lost the belt to Garbrandt at UFC 207. Still Dillashaw is willing to fight Cruz, if “The Dominator” proves his worth first.

“The one thing I have against Cruz is he feels entitled,” Dillashaw said. “He feels entitled to this rematch. You haven’t been active. If you’ve been active, sure you deserve the title match. But you want to be sidelined for two years saying you’re ‘injured’ [makes quotations with his fingers] and then all of a sudden I’m looking for a contender and you’re like, ‘Oh, I’m ready.’ You just want to pass murderers row up. You don’t want to challenge yourself whatsoever. To me it’s a little p*ssy move. ‘Oh, I’m hurt.’ Sure, maybe you were hurt but go out there and prove yourself. Go out there and beat Marlon Moraes and let’s do this dance.”

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MUST-READ STORIES

Results. Greg Hardy scored another quick KO plus three contracts were awarded on the Tuesday Night Contender Series.

Shade. Justin Buchholz thinks ‘proper training’ would have helped Cody Garbrandt for UFC 227.

Tweet Tweet. Nate Diaz seemingly lashes out at UFC again with ominous tweet.

UGK. Dana White says Eddie Alvarez still welcome in UFC, but he’ll ‘absolutely understand’ if he leaves.

Superfight. Georges St-Pierre uninterested in fight with Anderson Silva ‘right now.’

Respect. Tyron Woodley says Darren Till presents ‘way more threats’ to him than Colby Covington.

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VIDEO STEW

The Sound Off.

UFC 228 promo.

Look at how impossibly cool DJ is about losing the belt. What an inspiration.

The start of training camp at AKA plus Khabib and DC arguing about who will have the biggest fight in UFC history is great.

Ranking the five worst PPVs.

Marky Mark knows.

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LISTEN UP

Show Money. Discussing the UFC lawsuit, Bellator’s DAZN deal, and McGregor’s return.

UFC Unfiltered. Interviews with Dana White, T.J. Dillashaw, and Henry Cejudo.

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SOCIAL MEDIA BOUILLABAISSE

WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

Apparently Stipe believes 11 is the same number as 3.

That is one dope trophy case.

Nate came back for about a day and gave us a fire MMA meme.

Call outs.

Also, Curtis Blaydes keeping it real.

Shade.

Dillashaw with the relentless shade. (Also forgetting he refused to dap up Dom before their fight).

Wild that this man is just now getting his black belt.

This man sees the future.

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FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS

N/A.

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TODAY IN MMA HISTORY

2009: B.J. Penn submitted Kenny Florian to retain his lightweight title at UFC 101. In the co-main event, Anderson Silva embarrassed Forrest Griffin in a light heavyweight showcase bout. This event also featured the UFC debut of future welterweight champion Johny Hendricks, who knocked out Amir Sadollah.

2015: Glover Teixeira submitted Ovince Saint Preux with a rear-naked choke at UFC Fight Night 73.

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FINAL THOUGHTS

Thanks for reading and see y’all tomorrow.

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EXIT POLL

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