UFC free fight: T.J. Dillashaw knocks out rival Cody Garbrandt to win bantamweight title

T.J. Dillashaw dethroned arch rival Cody Garbrandt, but it didn’t come without adversity.

After spending weeks filming Season 25 of “The Ultimate Fighter” with his former teammate, Dillashaw looked to regain his title when he challenged then bantamweight champion Garbrandt in the co-main event of UFC 217 in November 2017.

Tensions were high right off the bat as Dillashaw used his in and out movement, while Garbrandt looked to take his head off on the counter. Dillashaw used a kick-heavy approach to keep Garbrandt at bay, but “No Love” started timing the kicks and firing back with combinations. With time winding down in Round 1, Garbrandt dropped Dillashaw with a big counter right which had him stumbling back to his corner.

But Dillashaw made sure the second round was a different story. Just over a minute in, Dillashaw dropped Garbrandt with a left high kick and continued to press him. He was able to drop him once again with a counter right, but this time, Garbrandt wasn’t able to recover. A frustrated Dillashaw got in Garbrandt’s face after knocking him out as he celebrated his championship win.

Dillashaw (16-4 MMA, 12-4 UFC) returns after a two-year U.S. Anti-Doping Agency suspension on Saturday when he takes on Cory Sandhagen (14-2 MMA, 7-1 UFC) in the main event of UFC on ESPN 27, which takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Before he faces Sandhagen, relive Dillashaw’s finish of Garbrandt in the video above.