The fight to make in the bantamweight division is finally happening as champion TJ Dillashaw (12-2) will defend his title against former champ Dominick Cruz (20-1).
The announcement was made on UFC Tonight last night:
Cruz has had a terrible few years due to various recurring injuries and was actually stripped of the title due to inactivity. The last time we saw Cruz was in 2014 in a fantastic performance against Takeya Mizugaki where he won by KO in just over a minute, his first fight since 2011.
While Cruz has been battling through his injuries TJ Dillashaw has burst onto the scene and rose to the top. In the time Cruz last defended his title (vs. Demetrious Johnson in October 2011) Dillashaw has competed ten times in the UFC going 8-2. This includes beating Renan Barao twice, winning the title and also defending it twice.
TJ Dillashaw vs. Dominick Cruz will go down January 17th at UFC Fight Night 81 in Boston.