UFC bantamweight champion T.J. Dillashaw said he’s not about to defend his title on short notice just to save UFC 222. Would-be challenger Cody Garbrandt seems none too impressed with that decision. So who’s right, and will fans (or fellow fighters) even notice? Retired UFC and WEC fighter Danny Downes joins MMAjunkie columnist Ben Fowlkes to discuss.

Downes: Ben, while you were prepping your vegan, gluten-free appetizers for the important American football game this weekend, there was a rumbling high atop Mt. Xyience. A leg injury to Max Holloway forced him to pull out of his title defense against Frankie Edgar. This left UFC 222 without a main event.

I know you’d love to see Clarence Byron Dollaway headlining a pay-per-view, but the UFC was searching for some stopgaps, so it appears that the company approached T.J. Dillashaw about defending his belt on short notice against friend turned mortal enemy Cody Garbrandt.

Dillashaw turned down the fight. You can read his full statement here, but he cites the recent birth of his child and the fact that while UFC executives love it when you do them a favor, it’s usually a one-way street.

Garbrandt’s reaction was measured and responsible. I’m just kidding – he was pissed, calling Dillashaw a coward and accusing his former training partner of searching for excuses.

I think we both agree that Dillashaw did the “smart” thing here, but does that clash with how people view “real” fighters? Contrast Dillashaw’s move with that of someone like Donald Cerrone: “Cowboy” will fight anytime, anywhere. That may have its downsides, but is he a truer distillation of the “fighting” spirit?

Fowlkes: In a way, maybe. But you know one major difference between Cerrone and Dillashaw? Only one of them is a UFC champ.

Look, we both know it’s silly to debate which top UFC fighters have the fighting spirit and which don’t. They all have it. They wouldn’t be here if they didn’t. But even if they were in a constant, unending struggle to prove themselves to us (and just imagine if we expected football players to be constantly ready to play in the Super Bowl, year-round, at a moment’s notice), doing something dumb doesn’t necessarily convince me that you’re tough.

And let’s be real, it would be dumb for Dillashaw to take this fight now. He’s not in training. He’s got a new baby (I don’t know about you, Danny, but the first three months – at least – of both my daughters’ lives is a poop-smeared and sleep-deprived blur for me). Besides, he just beat Garbrandt a few months ago, and he’s had his eye on this genuinely intriguing fight with pound-for-pound great Demetrious Johnson for a while now.

Finally, Dillashaw finds himself in the driver’s seat. Now the UFC wants him to be a pal and run a quick errand that could very well end up with the car upside-down in a ditch. And what can he expect in return? Golly, the UFC sure will owe him one.

Anyone who’s been paying attention knows by now that the UFC demands favors but does not return them often. Fighters have to look out for themselves.

If Dillashaw steps up on short notice to rematch Garbrandt, sure, it’ll help the UFC salvage a pay-per-view. But that event still wouldn’t sell a ton of buys, so the better payday is to wait for Johnson. Plus, if he takes the fight and loses, you think the UFC is going to turn around and help him out with an instant rematch?

My question isn’t whether Dillashaw made the right call – obviously, he did. My question is whether the general mood among fans has now changed enough that the majority of them will actually realize it.

Downes: No.

Oh, you probably want me to elaborate, huh? I think the ratio today would be closer to pro-Dillashaw than it would have been a couple years ago, but the majority of fans are not forgiving when somebody turns down a fight, and the reason doesn’t seem to matter.

Remember when Amanda Nunes was too sick to defend her belt? My read on the situation was that the majority of fans blamed her. Even Conor McGregor, the man who convinced millions of people to pay $100 to watch him fight Floyd Mayweather, still suffers from this problem.

How often do you read comments from fans who accuse McGregor of being scared of Tony Ferguson or Khabib Nurmagomedov? Most fans assume there’s only one reason you turn down a fight – you think you’ll lose.

Fans have been conditioned to think this way. Fighters complain that fans don’t know anything about the “grind,” but they have nobody to blame but themselves. Every time a fighter tries to express some type of autonomy in these situations, his peers are ready to throw him under the bus for the sake of personal gain. There’s no solidarity.

This situation is noting new. We’ve seen some iteration of it multiple times throughout the years. Do you see any change in how fans, media, or management react? It’s nice to see Dillashaw stand up for himself, but will this encourage others to follow? I mean, if a newborn baby can’t get people on your side, what will?

Fowlkes: A gradual understanding of economic realities, maybe? No? Well, it was worth a shot.

I get what you’re saying, and I think you make a good point about fighters failing to understand the bigger picture. I mean, that too is understandable, since when you’re trying to goad someone into a fight, accusing them of being scared is basically humanity’s oldest trick, but still.

Point is, if you’re Garbrandt, it’s in your financial interest to try to make this fight happen, just like it’s in Dillashaw’s interests to wait for Johnson. If we acknowledge that it’s every man for himself in this sport – and clearly, it is – I don’t see how we can criticize either of them too harshly. Garbrandt’s out there trying to get his, same as Dillashaw.

Do fans understand that? I think some do (and if you’re paying attention closely enough to even hear about fights that never came close to getting made, there’s a slightly better chance that you’re one of the ones who do). More importantly, I think fighters are less and less inclined to worry about it either way.

The people who will hate on you for refusing to put down that infant and risk your title just to help out the UFC? They are bound to be a fickle bunch anyway, so you can’t exactly rely on them to stick by you even if you give them what they want. Similarly, the UFC can go out there and bury you in the public sphere for turning down the fight, but then you’ll join pretty prestigious company, and anyway it’ll blow over if you go knock someone out in your next fight.

If you do something dumb and lose your title, however? Then nobody will remember the difficult circumstances or the screaming baby at home. They’ll just add you to the list of former champs, the people who used to be able to call their own shots right up until they couldn’t.

The next thing you know, you’re the one on Twitter calling other people scared – and praying they’re dumb enough to take the bait.

Ben Fowlkes is MMAjunkie and USA TODAY’s MMA columnist. Danny Downes, a retired UFC and WEC fighter, is an MMAjunkie contributor who has also written for UFC.com and UFC 360. Follow them on twitter at @benfowlkesMMA and @dannyboydownes.