Cody Garbrandt vs TJ Dillashaw to coach The Ultimate Fighter (TUF): ‘Redemption,’ settle their Alpha Male score

It seems Cody Garbrandt has his first title defense set.

During tonight’s (Sun., Jan. 15, 2017) UFC Fight Night 103 broadcast on Fox Sports 1, it was announced that the newly-crowned Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt has been pegged as a coach for the upcoming season of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) “Redemption” opposite none other than TJ Dillashaw.

And it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that the two former training partners at Team Alpha Male (TAM) will bang it out at the end of the season in a five-round title fight.

TUF: “Redemption” will have an interesting twist, as it will feature past winners of the show competing in the tournament, once again. From UFC’s press release:

Garbrandt and Dillashaw will lead a cast of welterweights who all have redemption on their mind. Every member of the cast, including one athlete on the current UFC^® roster and previous Ultimate Fighter winners, have competed on a previous season of the show, which remains the highest rated and most watched original program on FS1, and look to prove they belong in the upper echelon of one of UFC’s most stacked divisions. The Ultimate Fighter^®: Redemption will premiere with a two-hour episode on Wednesday, April 19 at 10 p.m. ET.

Garbrandt is fresh of a dominant, title-winning performance over Dominick Cruz at UFC 207 (see it) last month in Las Vegas, Nevada, while Dillashaw picked up a win over John Lineker the same night. “No Love” offered Cruz an immediate rematch, but company president Dana White vetoed, paving the way for “The Viper.”

The fight has drama built in already, as Garbrandt wasn’t too thrilled with Dillashaw’s decision to bail on TAM to join Elevation Fight Team in Colorado. Plus, the hard-hitting bantamweight title holder claimed he’s already knocked out T.J. during training, and he has the video proof, too.

Dillashaw, however, has already challenged his former stablemate to post the alleged video evidence.

Excited?