NEW YORK, NY - NOVEMBER 04: TJ Dillashaw reacts during his UFC bantamweight championship bout against Cody Garbrandt during the UFC 217 event at Madison Square Garden on November 4, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images)
TJ Dillashaw responds to Jose Aldo callout: ‘We can do it after I get my belt back’
TJ Dillashaw is interested in facing Jose Aldo.
After Aldo defeated Pedro Munhoz at UFC 265, he called out Dillashaw in a fight many fans wanted to see. However, Dillashaw is out with a knee injury and when he returns, he has made it clear he wants the winner of Aljamain Sterling vs. Petr Yan 2 for the belt. After that fight, and he wins the strap, he says he is more than willing to have his first title defense against Aldo.
“Yeah, I like the callout,” Dillashaw told Submission Radio (via MMAJunkie). “I would like to fight Jose Aldo. He’s a legend of our sport, and we can do it after I get my belt back. I’ve actually been called out I think by every fighter in the, for sure top five, if not top 10, after they won a fight before I came back and fought Sandhagen. I swear every fighter called me out because it makes sense. I mean, I’m the true champion of the division, and you’re trying to build your name off me, thinking that I’ve been out for two years, that I’m coming off all this drama, that I’m not going to be the same fighter. And Sandhagen made that mistake, as well, and now he’s having to go further back to try and get to a title.”
TJ Dillashaw knows Jose Aldo is a legend of the sport and says it is a fight that he wants before his career is over. It’s also an intriguing matchup due to the success they have had. But, for now, Dillashaw’s focus is on reclaiming his bantamweight title.
“I mean, just Aldo’s name alone makes it interesting, right?” Dillashaw said. “Like, I would love that fight. So yeah, maybe it would be my first fight as champ beause Jose Aldo is a legend in the sport. I remember him in the WEC before I even had my first professional fight. He was fighting Urijah (Faber) when I was training there, so the guy’s been on top of the world for a long time. So it would be a dope fight.”
