Former bantamweight champion T.J. Dillashaw has a vested interest in the co-main event title fight on May 9.
The bantamweight championship will be on the line at UFC 249 when champion Henry Cejudo takes on ex-champ Dominick Cruz. Having fought both guys before, Dillashaw gave his prediction for the fight, and is leaning towards the more established fighter for the win.
“I like the fight, I’m intrigued in it,” Dillashaw told TMZ. “But if I’m a betting man, I’d bet on Dominick Cruz. I think that his awkward fighting style is tough to deal with, not like it’s the super most technical, but he uses it to his advantage. He gets people to play his game and I think that he’s going to point-fight Cejudo and he’s going to outpoint him and he’s gonna win a decision. It’s really tough to prepare for Dominick Cruz because no one really matches his style, it’s very awkward.”
Currently serving a two-year suspension due to testing positive for EPO, Dillashaw will be eligible to return from Jan. 18, 2021, and when that time comes, he’ll be knocking on the door of whoever holds the belt at the time. There’s added motivation, too, with Dillashaw suffering defeats to both Cruz and Cejudo. As a result, he’d love nothing more than the opportunity to run things back with either one of them in a bid to reclaim the 135-pound title once again.
“I’m interested in it,” he explained. “Obviously I got some bad blood with both these guys, so I like the fight,” Dillashaw said. “Obviously either of them that wins, I’d love to get in there and get my title back from them, so I’m happy about the fight.”
