It looks like the UFC is putting a little insurance on their year-end card, just in case their bantamweight title fight has some issues. T.J. Dillashaw is definitely unhappy that he wasn’t picked to fight Dominick Cruz again (that bout went to ex-teammate Cody Garbrandt instead), but he will still have a tough opponent across from him in John Lineker.
The bout isn’t official for UFC 207 yet, but Brett Okamoto of ESPN is reporting that it likely will be soon.
Dillashaw (13-3, 9-3 UFC) rebounded from his close title loss to Cruz in January by taking a decision win over Raphael Assuncao at UFC 200. He campaigned hard for a rematch with Cruz, but in didn’t happen.
Lineker (29-7, 10-2 UFC) has won six fights in a row, three of which have come since his return to bantamweight. Most recently he took a close, entertaining over John Dodson last month.
UFC 207 goes down in Las Vegas on December 30th, and will be headlined by a women’s bantamweight title fight between champion Amanda Nunes and challenger Ronda Rousey. Cruz vs. Garbrandt will serve as the co-main.
