TJ Dillashaw didn't fight for as long as he would have liked.
TJ Dillashaw: Cody Garbrandt can be UFC champion again, No Love needs to regain his confidence
It's been nearly two years since the two-time UFC bantamweight champion retired from mixed martial arts, but the difficult decision wasn't made of his own volition as injuries have taken their toll on his body. Dillashaw fought with a shoulder injury in his last fight, dislocating it during a TKO loss to then-champion Aljamain Sterling at UFC 280.
Dillashaw has had multiple surgeries on his shoulder and doctors have questioned whether he will ever compete again, but he has been regaining fitness since retiring, leaving many fans to wonder if the former champion will compete again.
Dillashaw has been a professional fighter since 2010, but his comments could put an end to any chance of him returning as he comes to terms with his retirement from mixed martial arts.
“I'm excited and sad at the same time, to be honest with you,” Dillashaw said.Jackson PodcastOn rising stars like Diego Lopez following in the footsteps of the previous generation of fighters, he said: “It's over, you know? I've been pushed out of the sport. And it sucks because I feel like I still have so much more to do.”
“It's exciting. Of course it's cool,” Dillashaw said of the respect the “old school” fighter receives. “I'm just talking about myself, about how I look at it.”
TJ Dillashaw first won UFC gold in 2014 with an upset knockout victory over bantamweight champion Renan Barao, who was 32-1 at the time. The Californian defended the title twice, losing to rival Dominick Cruz before regaining it with a win over Cody Garbrandt in 2017.
But Dillashaw's reign at the top didn't last long. After a flyweight loss to Henry Cejudo in 2019, he was suspended for two years after testing positive for the banned substance recombinant human erythropoietin (EPO). Dillashaw beat Cory Sandhagen in his return, but his final fight was against Aljamain Sterling and he underwent a series of surgeries afterwards.
Fights don't last forever, but in TJ Dillashaw's case, he wishes his career hadn't ended so soon.
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