UFC bantamweight champion T.J. Dillashaw was dead set in adding another feather in his cap by winning holding another world title, simultaneously. Instead, the result went the other way, and he was stopped inside 32 seconds by Henry Cejudo, marking the flyweight champion’s first successful title defense since winning it over Demetrious Johnson at UFC 227 last August.
It was a very forgettable night for Dillashaw, who went on to protest the outcome.
“I did not lose. You got the UFC doctors down there saying like ‘Man, I’m sorry. I don’t know what to do. That was early,” Dillashaw told members of the media during his post-fight press conference.
“It would be different, too, if I got smoked and dropped like in the (first) Cody fight. I wouldn’t even accept that victory like Henry Cejudo did. Yeah, of course, he’s gonna be happy, he got the belt, he won, he’s the state champion. But how could you be happy with that victory?”
Dillashaw further argued that he was far from being stopped in this fight, compared to when he was knocked down by Cody Garbrandt in their first fight at UFC 217 in 2017.
“That wasn’t a victory. They had a better chance of stopping the first Cody fight than that one,” he added. “I got hit on the chin as hard as you can get hit. This one clipped me behind the ear. What happens when you get clipped behind the ear?”
“This is not right. It’s complete bullsh-t. I’m completely effing bitter right now. I’m pretty pissed off. I worked my ass off, bro. I’m about to f—ng cry. I put in a lot of work,” Dillashaw said, trying to hold back tears.
UFC president Dana White agrees with Dillashaw, stating it was an early stoppage.
“I thought it was an early stoppage, too,” White said during his post-fight presser. “Listen, you got two of the best guys in the world, two world champions in a super-fight. Let them fight. Let them finish.
“I’m not taking anything away from Cejudo, because the fight went 20 seconds and Cejudo busted him up. I’m sure when you saw him sitting here, he looks like he was in a three-round fight.
“But Jesus Christ, let them fight. Horrible stoppage,” he added.
Saturday night marked Dillashaw’s first stoppage loss since 2011. He now drops to a record of 16-4 (with 11 wins by stoppage).
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