UFC 222: TJ Dillashaw Wants To Get Paid And Cody Garbrandt Is Willing To Give Up Some Of His Purse
A rematch between TJ Dillashaw and Cody Garbrandt isn’t totally off the cards for UFC 222 and both fighters have set their stalls out.
Last Saturday, news surfaced that UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway had pulled out from his bout with Frankie Edgar at UFC 222 following a leg injury that he sustained in training. The news of Holloway’s injury quickly spread and within hours there were rumours going around that a rematch between Dillashaw and Garbrandt was in the works.
Brazilian outlet Combate announced the bout had been finalized, but just hours later Dillashaw made moves to deny that the fight was done and that he was still focused on taking on Demetrious Johnson at 125-pounds. That seemed to bring an end to the hopes that the fight was going to happen, but this evening both Garbrandt and Dillashaw simultaneously appeared on different MMA shows to give their side of the story.
Appearing on Ariel Helwani’s MMA Hour, Garbrandt made it very clear that the UFC did try to make the fight happen and that it looked like it was going to take place before Dillashaw pulled out at the final minute, despite agreeing to Dillashaw’s terms that he would get an immediate rematch, should he lose. Garbrandt also added that the UFC has still not given up hope that the fight will take place at UFC 222
Cody Garbrandt tells @arielhelwani that he has been in conversation with UFC VP Hunter Campbell and that they are still trying to make the bantamweight title fight against T.J. Dillashaw at #UFC222 happen.
— Aaron Bronsteter (@aaronbronsteter) February 5, 2018
Cody said that they offered a good amount of money and that he agreed that Dillashaw would get an immediate rematch if he beat him.
— Aaron Bronsteter (@aaronbronsteter) February 5, 2018
At the same time that Garbrandt was on the MMA Hour, Dillashaw appeared on Luke Thomas’ Sirius XM show and said that he would take the fight if the UFC pulled their finger out and paid him the correct compensation package.
.@TJDillashaw tells @lthomasnews on #TLTS that there's a chance that he would take the fight with Cody Garbrandt at #UFC222 if the UFC makes it worth his while financially, but says he hasn't been training, has an injury and thinks Cody needs to earn a rematch.
— Aaron Bronsteter (@aaronbronsteter) February 5, 2018
Garbrandt was then informed about Dillashaw’s comments and then proceeded to say that he didn’t care about the money and just wanted the opportunity to fight for his title back. The Team Alpha Male man even added that he would be happy to give up a portion of his own fight purse.
.@Cody_Nolove: “I don’t give a f*** about money, he can have a cut of my purse. I want that title back”#TheMMAHour
— Jim Edwards (@MMA_Jim) February 5, 2018
Perhaps there’s life in this fight yet!
