T.J. Dillashaw wants fellow UFC champ Aldo if McGregor can't beat Siver

T.J. Dillashaw

A combination of circumstances is pushing UFC bantamweight champ T.J. Dillashaw to propose a featherweight title shot against champ Jose Aldo.

“Now would be the time, because I don’t have anyone to fight,” he told MMAjunkie Radio.

Very recently, the list of viable contenders for Dillashaw (11-2 MMA, 7-2 UFC) has dwindled when former champ Dominick Cruz (20-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) suffered another ACL injury and top bantamweight Rafael Assuncao (23-4 MMA, 7-1 UFC) suffered a broken ankle that will take him out of fighting for the next few months.

The turn of events suggested Dillashaw’s only logical title challenger might be ex-champ Renan Barao (33-2 MMA, 8-2 UFC), whom he beat this past May to win the belt. Although the two were set for a rematch in August at UFC 177, Barao was scratched from the event just 24 hours beforehand when he wasn’t medically cleared to fight.

UFC President Dana White said the ex-champ would need to work his way back into contention before getting another crack at Dillashaw. This past December, he returned to the octagon and submitted Mitch Gagnon to get back in the winner’s circle.

Dillashaw is not thrilled with the prospect of a third training camp for Barao.

“I wanted that Cruz fight so bad; I feel like it’s something the fans wanted and I wanted, and it was something to put a stamp on my championship, but maybe again, I have to train for my third Barao fight,” he said. “I don’t think he deserves a title shot, but he might be the only one in line.”

Jose Aldo

Another option, Urijah Faber (32-7 MMA, 8-3 UFC), is a perennial option for a title challenger. But Faber’s longtime relationship with Dillashaw at Team Alpha Male could scrap the teammate-vs.-teammate fight even before it’s suggested.

“I guess I could give it a one percent explore (figure), but I don’t see it happening,” Dillashaw said. “We don’t want to fight each other. He’s the one who talked me into fighting.”

And so, Dillashaw has another proposition for the UFC. While he said he understands he needs to solidify himself as a dominant champion at 135 pounds, he thinks it’s logical that the promotion might make an exception in booking him a fight above his natural weight class against Aldo, who this past year defended his UFC belt a seventh time in a rematch with Dillashaw’s teammate, Chad Mendes.

All that needs to happen to realize the fight, Dillashaw said, is for another roadblock to clear. White has said popular Irish featherweight Conor McGregor (16-2 MMA, 4-0 UFC) will get a title shot if he’s able to beat Dennis Siver (22-9 MMA, 11-6 UFC) on Sunday at UFC Fight Night 59. If Siver pulls off the upset, the bantamweight champ said it’s a perfect opportunity to give him Aldo (25-1 MMA, 7-0 UFC).

“I know they want to give him McGregor, so I’m going to keep my fingers crossed that McGregor loses to Siver,” Dillashaw said. “I don’t see how it’s going to happen, but if that happens, hopefully I can call out Aldo. That’d be so sweet to be the first one to hold two belts at the same time.”

If Dillashaw did so, he would become the first UFC fighter to actively hold two title in two separate weight classes. He would also put a feather in Team Alpha Male’s cap by avenging Mendes’ losses to Aldo.

Unless, of course, he has to dial it back for Barao, whose recent performance he found lacking.

“I thought he didn’t look that great,” Dillashaw said. “I felt he looked a little hesitant (and) flatfooted, which also is the guy I was training for. That’s how he wins a lot of fights, but I didn’t feel like he had the aggression or fire in his eyes that I’ve seen before.”

And that’s one silver lining to another fight with Barao: Dillashaw thinks he might be able to make it even more spectacular than before.

“I’m kind of excited if I ever get that rematch again, because I think it’s going to be a lot faster of a fight,” he said.

For more on UFC Fight Night 59, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.

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