Cody Garbrandt off UFC 213, Demetrious Johnson vs. TJ Dillashaw planned for August

Two weeks ago, UFC bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt was reportedly uncertain to make July’s UFC 213 pay-per-view with a back injury, and now it’s been made official that he’s out. With Garbrandt vs. T.J. Dillashaw off, that opens the door for the former bantamweight champion to move down to flyweight and take on the sport’s pound-for-pound best, Demetrious Johnson. ESPN’s Brett Okamoto relayed this information on Tuesday night’s SportsCenter.

Dillashaw had immediate interest in taking on the reigning flyweight champion after news of Garbrandt’s injury first surfaced, but Johnson didn’t seem particularly interested in the idea. Johnson (26-2-1) is coming off an armbar win over Wilson Reis at UFC on FOX 24 in April, moving him into a tie with Anderson Silva for most consecutive title defenses in UFC history, with ten. Dillashaw (14-3) has beaten Raphael Assuncao and John Lineker since losing his bantamweight strap to Dominick Cruz. The 31-year-old has never competed at flyweight before.

According to MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani, Johnson vs. Dillashaw is targeted for Seattle, Washington. “Mighty Mouse” trains at Matt Hume’s gym in Kirkland, and grew up in Parkland, which is south of Seattle. It would easily be the biggest and most high-profile title fight of Johnson’s extraordinary career.

As far as UFC 213 is concerned, replacing Garbrandt-Dillashaw is an interim middleweight title fight between Yoel Romero and Robert Whittaker. Amanda Nunes vs. Valentina Shevchenko has been promoted to main event status.