UFC bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw is anxious to return to the Octagon following elbow surgery and wants a square off with Dominick Cruz early next year.
The first champion in Team Alpha Male history decided to fix a nagging injury after a dominant knockout over Joe Soto at UFC 177 in August and according to a report by UFC Tonight, he’ll be back by February or March.
Dillashaw scored one of the biggest upsets in UFC history when he took out then-champ Renan Barao at UFC 173 in May.
He dominated the fight before scoring a definitive knockout in the fifth and final round of the championship bout.
Cruz, a former UFC bantamweight titleholder, vacated the belt back in January after over two years of inactivity from the cage.
Finally, after 35 months away from the sport, Cruz came back with an exclamation point at UFC 178 in September, steamrolling contender Takeya Mizugaki.
It took him just 61 seconds to score a knockout victory and earned a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” bonus for his efforts.
Will Dillashaw vs. Cruz be one of the featured title fights in the UFC’s early 2015 schedule?