UFC Fight Night 81: TJ Dillashaw vs Dominick Cruz goes down on January 17th from TD Garden in Boston for the bantamweight championship as Dillashaw defends his belt against the former champ.
According to UFC President, Dana White, Cruz is the “unluckiest man in the world”. After recovering from three ACL surgeries he will fight for only the second time since 2011 as he seeks to reclaim the belt he was forced to retire due to inactivity. TJ Dillashaw on the other hand has spent the last four years catching up to the former champ. Since taking the belt from Renan Barao in one of the greatest upsets of 2014 he defended it for the first time against Joe Soto and then in July he finished Barao for the second time. The fascinating clash of styles should make for a captivating encounter.
In the co-main event Anthony Pettis returns for the first time since losing his lightweight championship against Rafael Dos Anjos in March. ‘Showtime’ is one of the most entertaining fighters out there and he will look to place himself back in to title contention with a highlight reel finish. His opponent, Eddie Alvarez, was Bellator lightweight champion before switching to the UFC in 2014. After a loss to Donald Cerrone is his debut he bounced back at UFC 188 in July when he earned a decision victory against former challenger, Gilbert Melendez. Both fighters rely on their exceptional striking so we can expect a big finish here.
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UFC Fight Night 81 03:00AM GMT 23:00PM ET (BT Sports 2)
135 lbs.: Dominick Cruz def. TJ Dillashaw via split decision (48-47, 46-49, 49-46)
155 lbs.: Eddie Alvarez def Anthony Pettis via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
265 lbs.: Travis Browne def. Matt Mitrione via TKO (ground and pound) – Round 3, 4:09
155 lbs.: Francisco Trinaldo def. Ross Pearson via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 30-27)
UFC Fight Night 81 Prelims 01:00AM GMT 21:00PM ET (BT Sports 2)
170 lbs.: Patrick Cote def. Ben Saunders via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 1:14
185 lbs.: Ed Herman def. Tim Boetsch via KO (knee) – Round 2, 1:39
155 lbs.: Chris Wade def. Mehdi Baghdad via submission (rear naked choke) – Round 1, 4:30
145 lbs.: Luke Sanders def. Maximo Blanco via submission (rear naked choke) – Round 1, 3:38
UFC Fight Night 81 Early Prelims 23:00PM GMT 19:00PM ET (UFC Fight Pass)
155 lbs.: Paul Felder def. Daron Cruickshank via submission (rear naked choke) – Round 3, 3:56
205 lbs.: Ilir Latifi def. Sean O’Connell via KO (punch) – Round 1, 0:30
145 lbs.: Charles Rosa def. Kyle Bochniak via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
135 lbs.: Rob Font def. Joey Gomez via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 4:13
205 lbs.: Francimar Barroso def. Elvis Mutapcic via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 30-27)
