TJ Dillashaw favorite to win back bantamweight belt

— -- Former UFC bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw will open as a slight betting favorite over Cody Garbrandt in a UFC title fight later this year.

Dillashaw has been pegged a minus-130 favorite to reclaim the title. Garbrandt, who won the 135-pound belt by defeating Dominick Cruz?on Dec. 30, comes back at plus-100, or even.

The two bantamweights are serving as coaches on the upcoming season of "The Ultimate Fighter" reality series. They will fight at the conclusion of the season, although no official date has been set.

Lines were provided by Nick Kalikas of MMAOddsBreaker.com.

"Both Garbrandt and Dillashaw are athletic, have great foot movement, excellent striking and are in their physical primes," Kalikas said.

"Garbrandt put on the performance of a lifetime in dethroning Cruz, but Dillashaw has been nothing but impressive since losing a razor thin decision to Cruz one year ago. Dillashaw is the more high-profile fighter, so I'll be opening him as a -130 favorite, but don't count Garbrandt out, as he's thrived as an underdog three times in the UFC already."

Dillashaw (14-3) is on a two-fight win streak, with victories over John Lineker and Raphael Assuncao. He fights out of Denver.

Garbrandt (11-0) was in contention for Fighter of the Year in 2016, with four victories, including three first-round knockouts.

The two are former training partners at Team Alpha Male in Sacramento, California.