T.J. Dillashaw, a former two-time UFC bantamweight champion, has an impressive record with 17 wins out of his 21 MMA appearances, eight of which were knockout victories, but the American has also lost four bouts.
In 2019, it was thought that Lieutenant Dan used EPO before a fight against Henry Cejudo. This was later proven to be true. As a result, Dillashaw was given a two-year USADA suspension and had to give up his bantamweight championship.
USADA has suspended former UFC champion TJ Dillashaw two years for testing positive for the banned substance EPO. Just announced by the agency. pic.twitter.com/y0vFauJJYp
— Marc Raimondi (@marcraimondi) April 9, 2019
The former champion, however, returned to the octagon in 2021 and defeated Cory Sandhagen by a split decision. Dillashaw then got the opportunity for the title shot but lost the bout against Aljamain Sterling by technical knockout.
Now that it seems Dillashaw was suffering from a shoulder injury even before the fight at UFC 280, the situation got worse, and the former champion will be out of the octagon for at least a year.
"I'm scheduled to get surgery" – T.J. Dillashaw details injury at UFC 280, reveals problems with shoulder originated during coaches' challenge on The Ultimate Fighter👇https://t.co/m9AJGzrOQs
— Jake Foley🇺🇸🥋 (@JFoMMATalk) November 2, 2022
Still, based on previous controversy, people are doubting him. But Dillashaw was furious about the borderline fraud accusation. The American fighter revealed in an interview that he has the champion mentality, which is why he gambled with his health so that he could win the title.
“I took a gamble as well, and that’s why it’s called f*****g gambling. You don’t know the situation. I took a gamble. I could have sat out and got surgery, but when I come back, who knows if I’m going to get a title shot right away or I’m going to have to fight my way back up in it, or how bad this shoulder is. Let’s be honest, this is my third surgery in my left shoulder. It’s not like I’m a spring f*****g chicken and it’s going to be an easy fix. It’s a serious thing.”
Leveling Sterling as the most beatable champion, Dillashaw also stated that he will be back in the octagon as soon as possible because he wants to reclaim his lost title.
“I will be coming back. I’m not going to let my story end that way.”
