T.J. Dillashaw is taking his time off to undergo surgery for two nagging injuries.
Former WEC and UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz said T.J. Dillashaw will return to the Octagon stronger than ever, and he might just be right.
“He’s going to heal up. Who knows what he’s going to do in his off time. Who knows how much healthier, how much better he gets, if he fills any gaps. I honestly think that when T.J. Dillashaw comes back he’s going to be better than he was when he left,” Cruz said in a recent interview with ESPN’s Ariel Helwani.
Dillashaw was recently handed a two-year suspension by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) after testing positive for EPO, an injectable only performance-enhancing drug, in relation to his flyweight title bout with Henry Cejudo at UFC Fight Night 143, which he lost via first-round knockout.
With no training camps on the horizon, the former two-time bantamweight champ is using his suspension to heal some old wounds.
In a recent Instagram post, Dillashaw posted a picture of his right shoulder post-surgery, and said he will be undergoing another big operation for his left shoulder in the coming weeks.
“Battle scars added to my hawk. Surgery went well, torn rotator cuff, labrum and some biceps tendon repair. Two months from now I’m getting my left shoulder done, it’s the worst of the two. The recovery time is long and sucks but it will be nice to have them finally fixed. Been needing these surgeries for three years now,” Dillshaw posted on Tuesday.
Dillashaw relinquished his bantamweight title before USADA handed him his suspension and will not be eligible to compete until January 19, 2021.