Duane Ludwig is the longtime coach and friend of TJ Dillashaw, who just won the UFC Bantamweight Title for a second time at UFC 217.
When it comes to a potential super fight between Dillashaw and UFC Flyweight Champion Demetrious Johnson, the coach says it is something that needs to happen.
“I think it needs to happen,” Ludwig said on The MMA Hour. “Demetrious, he’s fighting the top guys - this works out because (Joseph) Benavidez is out right now, he’s still having to wait a couple of months with his knee surgery, so it works out time-wise, so in my eyes I would like to see T.J. drop down, fight Demetrious, and then go back to ‘35.”
Dillashaw had campaigned for the fight against Johnson before, but Johnson opted to fight Ray Borg instead of the new bantamweight champion. The longtime coach also feels that his star pupil can win a fight where both competitors are on another level altogether.
“There are some areas that we could capitalize on, that’s for sure. But I’m not going to necessarily say that he’s weak in any one area, because he’s really not,” Ludwig said. “He’s great everywhere. This is a tough challenge, but T.J. could beat him. I just think he’s on another level like T.J’s on another level, they’re both on another level compared to the people in their weight class, he just really is.”
If the fight were to come together next year, then it would only be one of a handful of champion versus champion fights to ever happen in the famed Octagon.
