Crash course to UFC 177: Renan Barao vs. TJ Dillashaw
By: Jeff Wagenheim, Sports Illustrated
“'Anything can happen in a fistfight,' read last May’s prognostication, sounding levelheaded at first before taking a left turn onto Brash Blvd. 'But there’s nothing on [TJ] Dillashaw’s resume that suggests he can handle what [Renan] Barão will throw at him.'
"The gloomy springtime forecast blathered on, betraying an assurance that crossed the border into a state of impertinence, to declare that T.J.’s chance of surviving a Renan onslaught 'is dependent on whether the champ is in a rush.'
"Well, there was an onslaught on fight night, all right, but it turned out that the Brazilian was on the receiving end. And at the end of that May evening, Dillashaw was on the receiving end of the UFC bantamweight championship belt.
"So who was the buffoon who made the idiotic prediction? That would be the buffoon whose words you are now reading."