Well, I think some of us expected Dillashaw to give Barao trouble, but it's hard to believe that anybody but TJ's mom expected him to beat Barao as badly and as completely as he did. Barao's only shred of success was that he retained his perfect takedown defense--otherwise, it was a supreme display of technique from Dillashaw. Enjoy the first part of my latest breakdown (part 2 coming tomorrow), wherein I go throught the fight round-by-round and take a look at the best moments of technical prowess. Let me know what you think! Pivotal Moments: Dillashaw vs Barao, part 1 Typically, "Pivotal Moments" is a series that focuses on the techniques and strategies behind epic, back-and-forth fights. This edition, then, will be somewhat different, because TJ Dillashaw vs Renan Barao was anything but back-and-forth. In fact, aside from a swing 2nd round, Dillashaw absolutely dominated one of the greatest pound-for-pound fighters on earth, winning one of the biggest upsets in UFC history with grace and flash. Last week, Renan Barao was the undisputed bantamweight champion of the world, and he was set to dominate TJ Dillashaw for his second official title defense, fourth if you count those that occurred while he was still interim champ. TJ Dillashaw was a promising fighter who, just one fight removed from a close split-decision loss to Raphael Assuncao, wasn
Personally I never count anyone out as far as winning. The stupid cliche phrase "anything can happen" really happened in that fight. I do agree that I never figured he would win in the manner he did. I said on another thread, TJ had a cognitive strategy that led Barao into an autopilot mode and it was obvious in that fight. TJ was on his game and looked great imo.
