T.J. Dillashaw isn’t taking this loss very well.
T.J. Dillashaw talked a pretty big game before his super-fight with Henry Cejudo, only to be dropped multiple times and TKO’d in just a little over 32 seconds. He hasn’t taken the loss very well, immediately coming out and saying that he “didn’t lose” and instead, the bout was just “taken” from him because it was a “bulls—t stoppage.”
Even with a couple of days to think about the defeat, Dillashaw echoed the same things, pushing the early stoppage narrative and saying he believes he’s still the far superior fighter.
“Obviously I was furious. It was, I mean a 30 second fight when I know I’m the better fighter. It’s just rough to swallow. If anybody’s been in my situation or just competing in general, you know what that’s like,” Dillashaw told ESPN (transcribed by MMA Mania). “If we fight that fight 100 times I will win 99 of them. This, unfortunately, was that one fight.
“I’m not going to swallow this one very well. It’s a tough one for me, I was very serious of that. Especially when I have the UFC doctors telling me it’s an early stoppage. You had Dana White talking about it was an early stoppage. It just sucks man. There’s no other way to really put it.”
Being defeated after months of hard work and sacrifice is indeed tough to swallow for most competitors, but Dillashaw looks to be taking this one harder than most. For his part, the bantamweight champion did admit that he really doesn’t take losing very well.
“Let’s be honest, I’ve never said I wasn’t a sore loser,” Dillashaw stated. “I don’t take losing very well. That’s not a guess about me. I let my emotions get the best of me, that’s why I’m so competitive and that’s why I am who I am.”
While many people believe that you should lose a lot in the gym to get better, the hyper-competitive Dillashaw admits that even in the gym, that’s been hard to accept for him.
“That’s why I put that many hours into the gym and train as hard as I do. Even in practice I get pissed when I lose. You know? I’ve been known for that. My emotions get the best of me.”
In the past, several former teammates complained about Dillashaw hurting training partners and going way too hard in practice because of his temper. T.J. himself denies intentionally injuring his teammates, but did admit to being “overly aggressive” in sparring at times.