Watch UFC Fight Night 81's T.J. Dillashaw destroy Renan Barao to win title

T.J. Dillashaw has been an underdog just once in his 10-fight UFC career … once.

But that one time, he was a massive ‘dog. When he challenged Renan Barao for Barao’s bantamweight title at UFC 173, Dillashaw did so with the champion coming in as high as a 12-1 favorite.

The oddsmakers could not have been more wrong. Dillashaw spent more than 20 minutes beating the proverbial hell out of Barao, who had not lost in more than nine years going into the fight in Las Veags. Midway through the fifth round, Dillashaw finally put the champ away with a head kick and follow-up punches for one of the biggest upsets in MMA history.

Since then, Dillashaw has defended the belt two more times – once against Joe Soto when Barao couldn’t make weight for their UFC 177 rematch, and then, finally, against Barao with a fourth-round TKO in Chicago this past July.

On Jan. 17, Dillashaw (12-2 MMA, 8-2 UFC) meets former titleholder Dominick Cruz (20-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) in the main event of UFC Fight Night 81 at TD Garden in Boston. The main card airs on FOX Sports 1 following prelims on FOX Sports 1 and UFC Fight Pass. It will be the first time FOX Sports 1 has hosted a UFC title fight.

Dillashaw is ranked No. 1 in the MMAjunkie/USA TODAY Sports MMA bantamweight rankings. Cruz is No. 2 and a former champion who only had to relinquish the belt when he couldn’t stay healthy enough to defend it. His shot at Dillashaw will be just his second fight since October 2011 and first in about 16 months.

Before the clash of the top two 135-pounders in the world, relive Dillashaw’s epic decimation of Barao at UFC 173 above. Then don’t miss his title defense against Cruz later this month.

And for more on UFC Fight Night 81, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.