Dana White lauds T.J. Dillashaw for UFC Fight Night 35 ‘absolute clinic’

DULUTH, Ga. – T.J. Dillashaw didn’t pick up any fight-night bonuses on Wednesday night, but he’ll no doubt be excited to go to the mailbox every day till an envelope shows up.

Dillashaw (9-2 MMA, 5-2 UFC) took care of business against Mike Easton (13-4 MMA, 3-3 UFC) at UFC Fight Night 35, picking up a unanimous sweep of the judges’ scorecards. His boss was so impressed with his performance, that he said he’ll be getting one of those famed discretionary bonuses from the UFC – the ones that are off the record and typically show up in fighters’ mailboxes a couple weeks after their fights.

“I was telling Dillashaw, ‘You didn’t win (any bonuses) tonight, but I’ve got a little something coming your way,” White told MMAjunkie.

UFC Fight Night 35 took place at Arena at Gwinnett center in Duluth, Ga., just north of Atlanta. The main card, including Dillashaw’s win over Easton, aired on FOX Sports 1 following prelims on that network and UFC Fight Pass.

The win got Dillashaw back on track after a split-decision loss to Raphael Assuncao in October in Brazil that many believe Dillashaw won – especially Dillashaw. With five wins in six fights – or as he puts it, six in a row – in the bantamweight division, the Team Alpha Male standout may soon find himself right in the thick of things at 135 pounds.

And what could make it all the more interesting is that his teammate Urijah Faber fights Renan Barao for the bantamweight strap in a little more than two weeks.

But Dillashaw isn’t ready to entertain thoughts of fighting his teammate. After Dillashaw helped Faber get ready for UFC on FOX 9 this past month, Faber came back to help him get ready for Easton. Now Dillashaw will help Faber finish preparing for Barao, whom he fights on short notice for the title, replacing Dominick Cruz.

“I’m just a businessman. I’m going to come in there and perform every time. I’m real aggressive, so whoever they want to put me up against, I’m excited about,” Dillashaw told MMAjunkie. “It worked out perfect. We had four guys fighting on the Sacramento card that I helped get ready for their fights, so I had some hard sparring far out and got to taper at the end. And Urijah, after his fight, got right back into the room to help me for this fight, and it worked out in his favor because he got that short-notice fight. The guy’s incredible. He’s always in shape, and I think this is the best Urijah Faber we’ve ever seen.”

Speaking of the best anyone’s seen, White may believe Wednesday’s version of Dillashaw is the best anyone’s ever seen.

Despite getting rocked in the first round with a body kick, Dillashaw survived the rough spot and went on to dominate.

“I thought T.J. put on an absolute clinic tonight, man,” White said. “Ffrom wrestling to good hands to the body and head, leg kicks – everything you can possibly do to somebody, he did. He even showed some toughness in the first round. Maybe I’m wrong, but it looked like he got hurt really bad with a kick to the body and he went right for a takedown. But people don’t realize how hard it is to eat those types of body kicks.”

Dillashaw confirmed he indeed was hurt with the kick.

“I don’t remember getting hit to the body, but I definitely did because when I took a pee afterward, I had blood in my urine,” he said. “So I must’ve taken some good body shots there.”

White said the urgency Dillashaw continued to show late in the fight impressed him. Up two rounds to none, Dillashaw continued to go after finishes rather than cruising. That’s something White thought he’d see out of Easton, but didn’t

“I think he showed a little bit of everything tonight,” White said. “My problem with Easton is, he’s an incredibly well-rounded athlete, he’s tough, he hits hard, he’s a good wrestler – he’s down two (rounds) to nothing and he doesn’t come out in the third round with any urgency. He didn’t go after him, didn’t try to knock him out, didn’t try to finish him. It’s the exact opposite – it’s Dillashaw doing what he did the first two rounds, just picking him apart and hitting him with big shots.”

So what comes next for Dillashaw? It may be a waiting game for a bit. Dillashaw is ranked No. 10 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie.com MMA bantamweight rankings. He took care of Easton, who was No. 12. But everyone ahead of him in the current rankings is booked, save for Michael McDonald, whom Faber just took out in December.

Regardless of who he draws next and when, Dillashaw made a solid impression on White. So he can likely expect stiff tests in the division to continue.

For complete coverage of UFC Fight Night 35, stay tuned to the UFC Events section of the site.