T.J. Dillashaw (10-2) shocked the MMA world, not by defeating Renan Barao (32-2, 1 NC), but by producing one of the most sensational UFC championship performances ever seen in the Octagon on his way to a fifth round TKO win at the MGM Grand In Las Vegas on Saturday night.
Dillashaw was constantly in motion over the course of the fight, switching stances and baffling Barao, who had not been beaten since 2005. According to fightmetric.com, Dillishaw landed 140 of 309 signature strikes and 169 of 344 total strikes.Try as he might, Barao was unable to get any foothold in the fight, and he looked rather pedestrian in relation to the dynamism and unpredictability of his opponent.
The end came in the fifth after another huge right hand put Barao down on the canvas. Dillishaw swarmed on him and rained in more blows before referee Herb Dean stepped and called a halt to proceedings with 2:26 gone in the stanza. With his victory, Dillashaw secured the first UFC title for his training team, the Sacramento, California-based Team Alpha Male.
Earlier on the card, Daniel Cormier choked Dan Henderson out in the third round and Robbie Lawlor defeated jake Ellenberger by third round TKO.
UFC President Dana White seemed pretty happy with the main event:
Check out the highlights:
https://youtube.com/watch?v=pQ_7hQ7Y4a0
Here are the post-fight interviews in the Octagon:
