Wow. Wow, wow, wow! Renan Barao was the 8-1 favorite going into this fight against the 28-year-old Team Alpha Male member, TJ Dillashaw, and there was just no way Dillashaw would even come close to Barao, right? Wrong. Absolutely wrong. All of the crap talk about Alpha Males being unable to capture gold has gone out the window. Dillashow just put on a fight for the ages.
From the outset, TJ showed Barao no respect, coming in close, neutralizing spinning **** and dropping the champ in the first round, nearly finishing him with a neck crank as the first round ended. From that 10-8 opening, Barao simply couldn’t get back to his usual, brilliant ways. When Barao Zigged, Dillashaw zagged. Almost everything the champ threw was met by a counter, which chipped away at his engine, leaving him a sloppy mess by the third round. The fight waged on, with Dillashaw imposing his will in every facet of the fight, until he connected with a brutal headkick and finished Barao with 2 minutes togo in the fifth.
Unbelievable performance. I can’t believe the guy John Dodson knocked out is now the bantamweight champ. It’s incredible. Dillashaw put on a performance of a lifetime. I don’t know if he gets past Mizugaki, or even a less flat Barao, but for now, he is the champ. Undisputedly. Wow.
