Cody Garbrandt and TJ Dillashaw have bad blood they will settle at UFC 217.

For many fans the battle between bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt and former champ TJ Dillashaw is the unofficial main event of UFC 217. No disrespect to the men involved in the main event but you just can’t beat a nice grudge match. These two men have trained with each other for years and the rift caused by TJ Dillashaw leaving Team Alpha Male has been well documented. Now Garbrandt and Dillashaw will get to face off in a feud that seems like it was cut straight out of the movies. Which of these two former training partners turned rivals will come out victorious? Well let’s breakdown what each fighter has to offer the other.

Cody Garbrandt showcased a tremendous amount of maturity in his title fight against the greatest bantamweight champion of all time, Dominick Cruz. In winning the belt, Garbrandt solidified himself as the elite of the elite, not just through utilizing his power, but his tremendous footwork and head movement as well. With his amateur boxing and wrestling experience buoying him, Garbrandt was able to catch Cruz on multiple occasions with thunderous power shots as well as with well timed takedowns when Cruz found himself out of position.

Those clips go a long way in showcasing Garbrandt’s ability to read situations and exploit them at a moments notice. He’ll need that awareness once again in this match up as TJ Dillashaw has far more concussive force in his shots than Cruz. Striking in the pocket will be Garbrandt’s best opportunity to win this fight as Dillashaw can sometimes find himself freezing after throwing combinations. While he doesn’t utilize as a jab very often, he’d be smart to do so in this match even if it’s only to set up leg kicks. Dillashaw likes to move laterally quite a lot, often times in a wider stance. A well placed leg or body kick as Dillashaw is moving one way or another will do well to shut down the former champs momentum. In the below clip Garbrandt lands a right body kick and defends the shot before once again getting on his bicycle. Once Cruz moves again to his left, Garbrandt slams a hard leg kick home.

Cody Garbrandt should also use his takedowns as a means of setting up his hands up top. If you allow Dillashaw to get comfortable in the striking realm then it will make it all the easier for the former champ to use his wrestling. Wrestling to get into the clinch then striking on the exit will pay major dividends. While Dillashaw may have more tools to utilize from what we’vr seen, Garbrandt holds the biggest X-factor in this match up with the power in both his left and right hands. When Dillashaw looks for his darting right hands and jabs, an overhand right or left hook will work beautifully as a counter. Even in his older fights you could see Garbrandt had great timing on his overhand right.

TJ Dillashaw has been increasingly harder to hit since he lost the title to Dominick Cruz. Dillashaw doesn’t stand in the pocket nearly as much as he used to. Instead of purely striking, Dillashaw now shoots for takedowns much more often. In his battle against bantamweight contender John Lineker, the former champ would set up his takedowns by feinting up top, then going for a low leg trip.

If Dillashaw wants to defeat the champion then he’s going to have to use all of his tools to force Garbandt to constantly think. He needs to force counters out of Garbrandt so that he can set up reactive takedowns off of hooks, the champ’s favored striking technique.

Dillashaw’s fight at UFC 200 saw him avenge his loss to Raphael Assuncao in a competitive match. What made him so potent in that rematch was the fact that he used in and out movement as well as aim for accuracy over power. While he may be shorter than Garbrandt, Dillashaw fights longer. Dillashaw loves his straight punches usually into kicks. He likes to mask a stutter step with a jab or cross before throwing a powerful high kick.

He should aim to change levels with this strike going from the legs to the head to the body and back again. If Garbrandt rolls too low he could run face first into a head kick. Another good strategy for Dillashaw would be to set up specific patterns and exploit Garbrandt’s reactions. “Isn’t that the point of fighting, genius?” I can hear the critics now. Well, Dillashaw likes to using a darting straight very similar in execution to Stephen Thompson’s own movements.

Performing this technique a few times then disengaging could bait Garbrant into following up his attack. From there, Dillashaw could shock Garbrandt with a one of those well timed reactive takedowns to change the complexion of the fight.

With so much bad blood between these two former training partners, there’s no way these two won’t be bringing some emotions with them into the cage. Whoever can stick to the game plan will no doubt come out the victor in this battle. Either way, I can’t wait.

Who walks away the bantamweight champion at UFC 217?

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Jonathan Salmon is a writer, martial arts instructor, and geek culture enthusiast. Check out his Instagram, Twitter and Facebook to keep up with his antics.