Dillashaw says he wants title fight after suspension: 'I never lost it. I'm still the champion'

T. Dillashaw will ask for a title fight after his return. Photo: Reproduction/Instagram @tjdillashaw

One of the biggest surprises of 2019 in MMA was the confirmation that TJ Dillashaw he ingested a prohibited substance and would be banned from the sport for two years. The athlete, who admitted his mistake and accepted the suspension, however, stated that, at the end of the punishment, he will ask the Ultimate management for a fight to try to regain his old bantamweight belt, which today belongs to Henry Cejudo. The statement was made in a recent interview with reporter Helen Yee.

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“This is my division. I had to give up my belt and it was fair. I understand. I screwed up and I'm paying for it. But I didn't lose. This is my title. I still say it's my belt. I'm still the world champion. When I return, I will claim my position”, declares TJ.

Dillashaw became bantamweight champion twice. The first, in 2014, the fighter won the right to wear the belt after beating the Brazilian Renan Barao at UFC 173. After that occasion, the North American defended his position twice before losing to Dominick CruzIn 2016.

Defeated, TJ managed to turn things around and won two fights in a row. With this fact, the athlete was once again accredited to fight for the belt. This time, the athlete faced cody garbrandt and managed, once again, to sit on the throne of division. Dillashaw even defended his belt in a rematch against Cody and, after trying his luck in the search for the flyweight title and losing, doping was found to be the case and, thus, the subsequent punishment came.

Tried and suspended, the athlete will only have the right to perform in January 2021. Aware of the failure, the athlete, however, speaks excitedly about his future return. According to TJ, the sport needs fighters who have their own style, who like to talk and move behind the scenes.

The rooster division needs me. They need to have the entertainment back, so they need me to come back to throw some sparks in the division and create some tension”, concluded the fighter.

When he is cleared to fight again, Dillashaw will be close to 35 years old. The fighter today has 20 fights, with 16 wins and four losses in his professional career.