T.J. Dillashaw renews call for fight with Demetrious Johnson: 'Don't be scared, man'

It’s the season of giving, and UFC bantamweight champion T.J. Dillashaw is hoping, again, flyweight champ Demetrious Johnson will give him a fight.

Dillashaw (15-3 MMA, 11-3 UFC) renewed his call for Johnson (27-2-1 MMA, 15-1-1 UFC) to step up to the plate to face him and told TMZ the fight was in both of their best interests.

“He should be (on board),” Dillashaw told TMZ. “This is the fight that makes the most sense for (him), even moreso than me. He needs a fight that’s sellable.”

Any criticism of Johnson has definitely not come from his in-cage performance, where he hasn’t lost in more than six years. He won the UFC’s inaugural flyweight title in September 2012 and has defended the belt 11 times. Most recently, he submitted Ray Borg at UFC 216 in October and broke Anderson Silva’s record for consecutive title defenses.

Over the course of his streak, he has seven finishes and seven post-fight bonus awards. But he’s also been perhaps the most favored fighter, on average, in UFC history. So far ahead of most of the rest of the flyweight class is “Mighty Mouse” that the betting lines for his fights make him a massive favorite each time he steps in the cage. His past seven title defenses have seen him close with odds of -2000 (Chris Cariaso, -1500 (Kyoji Horiguchi), -725 (John Dodson 2), -450 (Henry Cejudo), -1150 (Tim Elliott), -1100 (Wilson Reis) and -1200 (Borg).

That’s a big reason Dillashaw is advocating they fight – the matchup between a flyweight and bantamweight, presumably with Dillashaw moving down to 125 pounds, finally would mean a competitive bout for Johnson, and one the fans would see as competitive, as well. And that would mean the potential for stronger pay-per-view sales than Johnson is accustomed to seeing.

“Demetrious Johnson’s always showed up,” Dillashaw said. “He’s always done his job. He’s always been the better fighter. He’s looked awesome. He’s finished fights – looking great. Really, what it comes down to, is not having an opponent to say, ‘We’re excited about this fight.’ Everyone’s always excited like, ‘Let’s see if Demetrious Johnson can break the record,’ or ‘He’s on this long win streak,’ this, this and that. But they never talk about Demetrious Johnson and who he’s fighting.

“This is a fight that will happen – this is a fight that will get the fans entertained. You’ll be glued to the TV because he’s fighting me, not because he’s just fighting. That’s why he doesn’t sell tickets – because everyone knows what’s going to happen.”

In anticipation of a potential matchup, Johnson is a -140 favorite over Dillashaw, who sits at +110. There was talk of the two fighting earlier this year, but Johnson chose to fight Borg, instead. Dillashaw went on to challenge former teammate Cody Garbrandt for the bantamweight title after the two coached opposite each other on Season 25 of “The Ultimate Fighter.”

At UFC 217 earlier this month, Dillashaw reclaimed the 135-belt with a second-round knockout of Garbrandt, giving him three straight wins since losing the title to Dominick Cruz nearly two years ago in a close split decision. After that win, Dillashaw renewed his hope for a fight with Johnson, and it’s one UFC President Dana White says he can get behind if Dillashaw can make the weight – which he believes he can.

The question in Dillashaw’s mind just seems to be whether or not Johnson wants the fight.

“Don’t be scared, man. Let’s get this done,” Dillashaw said. “This is the fight that makes sense for you and me. This is the fight the fans want to see. This is the fight I want to see. Not sure if you want to see it, but man up – let’s do it.”

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