Dillashaw vs. Cruz headlines UFC Fight Night on Jan. 17
The bantamweight title will go up for grabs as T.J. Dillashaw puts his championship on the line against former 135-pound king Dominick Cruz at UFC Fight Night on Jan. 17 in the first UFC title fight to air free and live on FS1.
UFC president Dana White made the announcement on UFC Tonight on Wednesday.
Dillashaw will enter the fight off his second straight title defense this past July following a second win over former champion Renan Barao.
Dillashaw won the belt in 2014 after beating Barao in what was considered at the time a massive upset. Dillashaw proved it was no fluke by dominating Barao in even more impressive fashion during their rematch just over a month ago in Chicago.
Now, Dillashaw will have the opportunity to settle the debate about who is truly the best bantamweight in the world when he faces Cruz in January.
Cruz will return to action for the first time in more than a year after suffering an ACL tear in his knee following a TKO victory against Takeya Mizugaki last September.
Cruz was the first UFC bantamweight champion when he moved over to the promotion from the WEC. The 30-year-old fighter never actually lost the belt, but was forced to surrender the title after injuries knocked him out for the better part of three years.
Now Cruz is healthy and ready to attempt to reclaim his spot atop the bantamweight division.
