TJ Dillashaw’s retirement has left the MMA community wondering what’s next for the former UFC champion. Some fans are hopeful that Dillashaw might return to the Octagon after he recovers from his injuries.
Although Dillashaw declared his retirement after his loss to Aljamain Sterling, Garbrandt was happy to talk about friend turned rival ahead of UFC 285 poking holes in his retirement.
Garbrandt stated that he believed Dillashaw followed McGregor’s USADA retirement regime. He said, “I think he did the Conor McGregor USADA retirement, you know what I mean.”
And it looks like Dillashaw is looking to do just that but was given discouraging news by the doctor. Dillashaw writes:
“This is retirement.
.
But in all honesty I’m pretty pissed that I didn’t get the chance to choose to retire. I feel that I’m to good to hang ‘em up. Haven’t told many people but I have to go under the knife again for surgery because my first surgery didn’t take. Being told that my shoulder will never be good enough to compete again is hard to hear. I have been delaying my surgery trying to find a better solution”
Dillashaw's corner pops his shoulder back into place pic.twitter.com/HSM6yj5UJv
— calfkicker (@calfkickercom) October 22, 2022
His shoulder dislocated over 20 times during camp to face Aljo Sterling and even disclocated twice during making the title bout practically a non starter.
Dillashaw: The Rise, Fall, and Redemption of a UFC Champion
TJ Dillashaw is the former UFC Bantamweight Champion.
In 2011, Dillashaw was a contestant on the 14th season of TUF. Although he didn’t win the season, he impressed UFC President Dana White enough to earn a contract with the promotion.
Three years later, Dillashaw found himself facing Renan Barão, who was on a long unbeaten streak. Despite being a heavy underdog, Dillashaw surprised the world by dominating Barão en route to a fifth-round TKO victory. It was a remarkable performance that earned Dillashaw widespread recognition as one of the best bantamweights in the world.
Dillashaw’s reign as champion didn’t last long, however. In 2016, he faced Dominick Cruz in a highly anticipated bout for the bantamweight title. Although Dillashaw put up a valiant effort, he lost via a controversial split decision.
Dillashaw bounced back from the loss by defeating Cody Garbrandt in 2017 to regain the bantamweight championship..
Dillashaw’s reign as champion came to an abrupt end in 2019 when he tested positive for EPO. Dillashaw admitted to taking it, apologized for his actions, and accepted a two-year suspension from the USADA.