Remember that weird TJ Dillashaw – Conor McGregor rivalry on The Ultimate Fighter?
In one of the few recent seasons of TUF that some people actually watched, Conor McGregor pretty much predicted TJ Dillashaw’s bad break up with Team Alpha Male.
Dillashaw parting ways alongside Duane Ludwig hit Urijah Faber’s team hard. People may forget, but Dillashaw was the first Team Alpha Male fighter to win a UFC title. Prior to that, they were always seen as the guys that challenged but ultimately failed to win the big one inside the Octagon. Faber came up short in four attempts, Joseph Benavidez lost two of them to Demetrious Johnson and Chad Mendes was defeated in two 145 lb title fights by Jose Aldo.
Not only that, but Dillashaw reached the zenith against the odds. He received his shot as a late replacement for Raphael Assuncao. Dillashaw had lost a split decision to Assuncao and was ranked outside the top five. Then-champion Renan Barao had been riding a nine-year, 33-fight unbeaten run before Dillashaw finished him.
So the very notion that Dillashaw could be a ‘snake in the grass,’ really struck a nerve with TAM. You better believe this moment contributed to the often-times confusing beef between Dillashaw, Ludwig and TAM following the departure.
Snake in the grass
McGregor really ruined Dillashaw’s life. At least, for a while.
At first, Dillashaw absolutely despised being compared to a spineless reptile, even going as far to call “The Notorious” a “traitor to Ireland“. To this day, every single time he posts to social media, the comments are flooded with snake emojis.
Dillashaw got over it though. He’s actually started to embrace it. When he coached The Ultimate Fighter opposite arch-rival Cody Garbrandt, he named his team ‘The Snake Den’. Go to his Instagram account and you’ll see snake photoshops as posts as well as snake emojis in the replies.
He got over it. And he didn’t let that past beef colour his judgment for UFC 229’s headliner. He’s picking Conor McGregor to beat Khabib Nurmagomedov.
Very interesting theory #UFC229 https://t.co/pTATNz7bcQ
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) August 13, 2018
“Khabib’s slow, man.”
Dillashaw gave his prediction during an appearance on Brendan Schaub’s Below the Belt podcast for Showtime. He believes that McGregor’s striking will see him win against a ‘slow’ Nurmagomedov.
“When I heard it a while ago and I think it’s going to happen, my money was on Khabib. After Khabib’s last performance against Al – I know Al is a good fighter too – I just don’t think his stand-up’s there. Conor’s just got that left hand, he’s fast, he’s going to be able to use his angles, his crazy kicks. And I’ve always underestimated the guy. Like Eddie Alvarez, ‘Alvarez is going to run through him.’ BOOM! Jose Aldo, ‘Oh, Aldo’s going to beat him.'”
It’s a fair point. Michael Johnson, who has since dropped down to featherweight (remember, McGregor had fast hands at 145 too) was able to keep Nurmagomedov at bay for the first two minutes of their fight with his fists. While ‘The Menace’ didn’t exactly rock Nurmagomedov, he did land on him a few times.
That’s not nothing.
One thing to note about Dillashaw’s prediction though. Don’t expect to see Khabib use the same ‘Ali-inspired’ striking he used against Iaquinta. His coach Javier Mendez laughed off the prospect of that happening against McGregor.
