T.J. Dillashaw Laments Early Retirement, Likely Needs Second Shoulder Surgery

T.J.
Dillashaw says that ongoing shoulder issues forced him to call
it quits before he truly wanted to leave mixed martial arts.

The former bantamweight champion announced his retirement late last
year following a loss to Aljamain
Sterling in a 135-pound title bout at UFC 280. Dillashaw
admitted afterward that he entered the matchup with a shoulder
injury and that it popped out during the fight. He also revealed
that he dislocated the shoulder at least 20 times during training
camp.

In a post on Instagram, Dillashaw lamented the injury that led to
him exiting the sport while revealing that he will likely need a
second shoulder surgery.

“This is retirement,” he wrote. “But in all honesty I’m pretty
pissed that I didn’t get the chance to choose to retire. I feel
that I’m [too] 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 went 1-1 after serving a two-year USADA suspension for
testing positive for recombinant human erythropoietin (EPO) in
relation to a loss to Henry
Cejudo at UFC Fight Night 143 in January 2019. Dillashaw
relinquished the UFC’s bantamweight belt when news of the positive
test came to light. He returned to edge Corey Sandhagen via split
decision in the UFC on ESPN 27 headliner in July 2021 before
suffering the lopsided defeat to Sterling.

Prior to the failed drug test that tarnished his reputation,
Dillashaw built a resume that rivals most any bantamweight in the
sport. He upset Renan Barao
at UFC 173 to capture the 135-pound strap and defended it twice
before falling to Dominick
Cruz at UFC Fight Night 81. Dillashaw regained the title by
stopping Cody
Garbrandt at UFC 217 and defended it against “No Love” in a
rematch at UFC 227. “The Ultimate Fighter 14” finalist went 13-5
within the Las Vegas-based promotion, earning notable wins against
the likes of Sandhagen, Garbrandt (twice), John
Lineker, Raphael
Assuncao and Barao (twice).