Photo by Michael Owens/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC
“McGregor did a great job. our movements are awkward and it’s tough for them to deal with.”
Former UFC bantamweight champion T.J Dillashaw is already looking at potential options for a return to fighting, and not necessarily just MMA.
Dillashaw (16-4) is currently serving a two-year suspension from USADA after testing positive for EPO, admitting he ‘sold his sold to the devil’ by willingly taking the substance.
Floyd Mayweather recently announced that he was coming out of retirement in 2020, something that gained Dillashaw’s interest when UFC president Dana White re-posted Mayweather’s post on Instagram.
“Who I really want? …Mayweather wants a UFC start that’s good at striking,” Dillashaw said on Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show. “I got a whole year to reinvent myself, to become a boxer. I got the who’s who in the boxing world; I’ve been training with the Lomachenkos, the Terrence Crawfords. You know, he ain’t gonna be able to wear me out and finish me because of my cardio. I think that’s a very intriguing fight.”
Since former UFC featherweight and lightweight champion Conor McGregor made the crossover to fight Mayweather in the boxing ring in August 2017, several UFC fighters have shown interest in following the Irishman’s path. Dillashaw feels UFC fighters bring ‘awkward movements’ to the ring, and he’s confident he will be able to trouble Mayweather.
“I’d love to get that Mayweather fight,” Dillashaw added. “Not even for the money, just for the fact of proving us UFC fighters got what it takes to get in that ring. I think Conor McGregor did a great job of showing what we can do, and that our movements are awkward—and that it’s tough for them to deal with. And I’ve seen it for myself in the boxing world. Going to train out at Joel Diaz’s out in Indio, I’ve trained with the Lomachenkos, I’ve seen Terrence Crawford’s camp—I think that would be a super intriguing thing to get involved in. And I’ve got the time to do it. It’d be a lot healthier on my shoulders right now too. I’m ready to get back to hitting mits. And that’s what I want, you heard it here first.”
Dillashaw’s two-year suspension started on January 19th, 2019. He will be eligable to compete again in January of 2021.