in the first defense of his ufc flyweight championship, cejudo was initially scheduled to face ufc bantamweight champion t.j. dillashaw on january 26, 2019, at ufc 233. however, after that pay-per-view event was canceled, the fight was moved a week earlier to headline ufc fight night 143 on january 19, 2019. it was the first title fight to showcase the new ufc legacy belt. cejudo won the fight via tko just 32 seconds into the first round to retain his title. the win also earned cejudo his second "performance of the night" bonus award. on 9 april 2019, usada announced that dillashaw had tested positive for epo in pre and post-fight screenings and had been suspended for two years.