In something of a surprise, it appears bantamweight champ T.J. Dillashaw will drop to flyweight to challenge Henry Cejudo for flyweight gold at UFC 233.
Despite the widely reported news that the UFC intends to shutter its flyweight division in the coming months, the title will be on the line at least one more time. According to a new report by ESPN, T.J. Dillashaw will be dropping to 125lbs in January to challenge Henry Cejudo for the UFC flyweight championship. In doing so, Dillashaw will have a chance to become the sixth multi-division champion, and third simultaneous champion in UFC history.
Dillashaw, a two-time bantamweight champion in the UFC, most recently defended his 135lb title against Cody Garbrandt at UFC 227 in August. That was an instant rematch for Garbrandt, who lost the title to Dillashaw at UFC 217 in New York.
In his first title reign, Dillashaw, a former TUF finalist, won the belt from Renan Barao, and defended it twice before losing it to Dominick Cruz.
Cejudo, meanwhile, became the man to dethrone the legend when he defeated Demetrious Johnson, also at UFC 227 in August. A Olympic gold medalist in freestyle wrestling, UFC233 will mark his first defense of the title.
The big question raised by this booking, should it pan out, is whether this will be the final defense of the 125lb belt in the UFC. Or, with a strong turnout for the event, will the promotion be willing to let the division run a little longer, even as it has given pink slips to a number of flyweight fighters.
UFC 233 takes place on January 26, 2019 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA.
