T. Dillashaw at the UFC weigh-in (Photo: Reproduction/Instagram)
Retired since October 2022, TJ Dillashaw has practically ruled out any possibility of returning to MMA. In an interview on former champion Quinton ' Rampage ' Jackson's podcast, the former bantamweight champion (up to 61,2kg) revealed that he has not yet fully recovered from his shoulder injury and gave details of the difficult process he has been facing.
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“I still can’t lift my arm in the air. I don't even know if my shoulder will ever be the same again. It's f*cked up and depressing. As a competitor, you have to be deceptively optimistic, but that's also what put me in this position. It just got worse and worse with each surgery. I had a huge surgery. I went to the best specialist in the world and it's like he's never seen anything like it. It looked like a bomb went off inside. There's a lot of healing to be done but this is my third surgery since my last fight, and it's not looking good,” lamented TJ.
At UFC 280 , the fighter was looking to reclaim the title in his weight class. After Aljamain Sterling dominated the first round, TJ revealed to his coaches that his shoulder had dislocated. Despite the injury, the athlete returned for the second round, but couldn't handle the pressure from the champion and was defeated via technical knockout.
At 37 years old, the fighter retired with 17 wins and five losses in his career. Having won the title after defeating Renan Barão in 2014, Dillashaw successfully defended his title twice. In his third attempt, the American was defeated by Dominick Cruz by judges' decision.
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