Good morning! I guess this is how we’re going to start the day.
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) bantamweight, TJ Dillashaw, has surrendered his 135-pound title following an “adverse finding” by United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) in the wake of his Henry Cejudo loss earlier this year in Brooklyn, New York.
“To all my fans, I wanted to be the first one to let you know that USADA and the NYSAC have informed me of an adverse finding in a test taken from my last fight,” Dillashaw wrote on Instagram. “While words can’t even begin to express how disappointed I am at this time, please know that I’m working with my team to understand what has occurred and how to resolve this situation as quickly as possible.”
New York State Athletic Commission (NYSAC) has already suspended Dillashaw for one year retroactive to Jan. 19, according to ESPN, the date he came up short in a mildly-controversial loss to Cejudo in what marked the promotion’s debut event on ESPN+.
The flyweight bout was Dillashaw’s attempt to become the next UFC “champ champ.”
“Out of fairness and respect to the rest of the my division, I’ve informed the UFC that I’ll be voluntarily relinquishing my title while I deal with this matter,” Dillashaw continued, perhaps not realizing how suspensions work. “I want to thank all of you in advance.”
The substance for which he popped was not disclosed (yet).
The promotion has yet to make a formal announcement, but you can expect Marlon Moraes to compete for the vacant bantamweight title. I guess the question moving forward, is who “Magic” will draw for his next opponent.
Stay tuned.