TJ Dillashaw knocked out Cory Garbrandt for a second time on this day in 2018, and that win was met with a shock callout from a fighter in a different sport.
While Conor McGregor’s feud with Khabib Nurmagomedov always comes to mind first when discussing the most bitter rivalries in UFC history, they are far from the only opponents to have hatred for one another when they shared the cage.
That was the case twice for Dillashaw and Garbrandt, two former Alpha Male teammates who engaged in fiery clashes and trash talk after the former left the gym. Their feud was undoubtedly among the most personal the Octagon has seen, and it got settled over two showdowns.
Dillashaw came out on the winning side of both, first stopping Garbrandt in round two at UFC 217 and then doing so even quicker minutes into their rematch at UFC 227.
Gervonta Davis said he wanted a piece of TJ Dillashaw after UFC 227
Dillashaw’s second win over Garbrandt at UFC 227 took place on this day, August 4, in 2018 and cemented his status as one of the all-time greats at 135 pounds. Plenty of reactions flowed after the high-profile rematch, but one prominent name who spoke out was not on fans’ bingo cards.
The win at UFC 227 evidently made Dillashaw a target for more than just contenders in the UFC bantamweight division, as then-WBA super featherweight champion Gervonta Davis expressed his desire to fight Dillashaw in a post on social media.
“I wanna fight the dude that fought Cody yesterday,” Davis wrote.
To the surprise of fans, ‘Tank’ later clarified that he was targeting Dillashaw in the UFC star’s wheelhouse of MMA.
The bantamweight champ welcomed the bout while responding, and he also made sure to slip in a jibe at Davis over claims he was being protected by Floyd Mayweather from facing Vasiliy Lomachenko.
“Bring it! I heard they were handing out belts after Loma left your division,” Dillashaw wrote.
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Gervonta Davis also once had Sean O’Malley in his sights
Dillashaw is not the only prominent MMA name with whom ‘Tank’ has had exchanges over a fight.
Davis went back and forth with Sean O’Malley both before and after ‘Suga’ reached the bantamweight throne in the UFC. The MMA star pointed to Davis as the ideal opponent in his ambition of following in Conor McGregor’s footsteps by pursuing a major crossover bout in the ring.
O’Malley claimed he would knock out Davis when he resurfaced talk of their fight in 2024 while mocking ‘Tank’ for his win over Frank Martin.
“An MMA fighter coming into boxing, like Conor, they did a way heavier weight than Floyd (Mayweather) was used to,” O’Malley said on an episode of his TimboSugaShow podcast.
“They would probably put in the clause that I can weigh in being 5’11” but I have to walk into the ring at 5’8″. I’m like, ‘I can’t do that’… We’re done with that boxing bulls—, I’d knock Gervonta out, well, anyway.”
His boxing ambitions have since taken a hit, however. After being unseated by Merab Dvalishvili in September 2024, O’Malley was submitted by Dvalishvili at UFC 316 in their rematch this past June.