Former UFC champion T.J. Dillashaw names surprising opponent he was most anxious for: "Most nervous I've ever been"
T.J. Dillashaw recently disclosed which opponent he was the most nervous for during his legendary career and shed light on the circumstances. He noted that he knew his opponent well and even spent time training before they met in the octagon.
The former bantamweight champion competed in several high profile fights during his career against the likes of Dominick Cruz and Cody Garbrandt, but he made a surprising revelation on who made him the most nervous.
At UFC 177, Dillashaw was scheduled to defend his newly won championship in a rematch against Renan Barao. However, the Brazilian was forced to withdraw after falling during his weight cut and was replaced by promotional newcomer Joe Soto.
During his appearance on The Casuals MMA, the 38-year-old recounted finding out that Barao was out of their fight the day before and was asked to accept a short-notice fight against Soto to save the pay-per-view.
Dillashaw mentioned that he had training with the former Bellator featherweight champion for the majority of his camp and was nervous because he had a lot more to lose than gain:
"[Soto] was coming to Team Alpha Male six weeks before the fight and training with us and I knew how good he was. He was the Bellator champion that just came to the UFC...They want me to take this fight on 24-hours notice...I'm putting everything on the line to fight someone that no one knows and I did it. And that was the most nervous I've ever been for an entire fight like, for any competition ever." [15:00]
Check out the full episode with T.J. Dillashaw below:
What happened when T.J. Dillashaw fought Joe Soto at UFC 177?
After Renan Barao was forced to withdraw on the day of the weigh-ins, Joe Soto stepped in and accepted a short notice bantamweight title shot in his UFC debut.
T.J. Dillashaw was understandably a massive betting favorite, considering his resume in the sport at the time. But there was familiarity that Soto had because he was helping him prepare for his initial bout against Barao.
Despite being a significant underdog, Soto was resilient and made the fight a lot more competitive. However, Dillashaw found an opening in the fifth round and earned a knockout win following a perfectly timed head kick and ground strikes to retain his bantamweight championship.
Check out T.J. Dillashaw and Joe Soto's post-fight interviews from UFC 177 below: