Following years of injuries and only one fight in the last four years, former UFC and WEC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz will face TJ Dillashaw in an attempt to reclaim the gold on January 17 in Boston.
The bout was confirmed by Dana White on UFC Tonight.
Dillashaw (12-2) won the title from Renan Barao in 2014 after Barao’s interim title was promoted to the official world title following multiple injury set-backs to Cruz. After winning the belt from Barao, Dillashaw went on to defend his title against Joe Soto and Renan Barao in a rematch. He won a performance of the night for both finishes.
Cruz (20-1) was promoted to the UFC bantamweight champion when the WEC and UFC merged in 2011. He defended the title against the only man to defeat him, Urijah Faber, by unanimous decision in 2011 at UFC 132. He then defended the title against current long-standing flyweight king Demetrious Johnson in October of 2011. Afterwards he would be out of action for three years, returning in September of 2014 and defeating Takeya Mizugaki in just 61 seconds. He has not fought since.
This fight will be for the UFC bantamweight championship and will headline.
UFC Boston will take place on January 17. Not much info known about the card yet, as this is the first official bout announced. A lightweight fight between former champ Anthony Pettis and former Bellator champ Eddie Alvarez is being rumored for the card as well.
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