UFC Fight Night 35 Results: T.J. Dillashaw Shows Off Striking Game in Route of Mike Easton

TJ Dillashaw and Mike Easton entered their UFC fight Night 35 bout on Wednesday night in Duluth, Ga., looking for a win, and it showed.

With both men coming off of losses, Dillashaw and Easton started fast, each trying to quickly establish his dominance in the striking game.

As the first round wore on, both men got in some good shots. Easton tried to set up his powerful hooks with quick sidekicks, but Dillashaw’s constant switching of stances and mixing up the variety of his strikes slowly edged him ahead. A leaping uppercut followed by a solid right hand turned the tide firmly to Dillashaw’s favor in the latter half of the round.

His confidence bolstered by a strong finish in round one, Dillashaw quickly took control in round two, again mixing up his strikes. He landed a head kick and opened a cut over Easton’s right eye, and wore him down late in the round by pressing Easton into the cage and driving numerous knees into his legs.

Easton came out strong in the final round, but Dillashaw again took some of his steam by rocking him with a combination of punches. Easton kept plodding forward, but Dillashaw was the one who still had more pep in his step, doing a good job moving in and out on Easton, tagging him and then proving to be an elusive target.

Easton kept moving forward, trying to land a knockout blow, but he didn’t have enough gas to catch up to Dillashaw, who is proving to be a master student for coach Duane “Bang” Ludwig, whose specialty has always been his striking game.

“I knew he was gonna be a tough fight, but I’m just the better athlete tonight,” said Dillashaw after the fight.

The fight was all his with a unanimous decision from the judges (30-27 on all three scorecards) immediately putting him back on track in the UFC bantamweight division.

“I’m looking to get that No. 1 contender’s spot,” Dillashaw continued, believing he shouldn’t have been on the losing end of a split decision to Raphael Assuncao in his last fight.

“Whoever’s in the way, I’m there. I want that [title] shot, but Urijah [Faber]’s gonna take it soon, so we’re gonna see what happens.”

The loss was Easton’s third consecutive defeat, putting him on a slippery slope in regard to his spot on the roster.

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