Tag: T.J. Dillashaw

TJ Dillashaw’s Comeback Win Gave Brian Ortega A Confidence Boost

UFC featherweight Brian Ortega has revealed the confidence boost he received from new teammate TJ Dillashaw’s return victory at UFC Vegas 32. Having not fought in 11 months, Ortega is set to return in this weekend’s UFC 266 main event. “T-City” was last in action against “The Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung at UFC Fight […]

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UFC featherweight Brian Ortega has revealed the confidence boost he received from new teammate TJ Dillashaw’s return victory at UFC Vegas 32.

Having not fought in 11 months, Ortega is set to return in this weekend’s UFC 266 main event. “T-City” was last in action against “The Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung at UFC Fight Island 6. Across five rounds, the 15-1 contender outpointed the dangerous 34-year-old and secured a unanimous decision victory.

After looking back to his best, Ortega secured his second shot at gold. He was set to meet UFC Featherweight Champion Alexander Volkanovski in the UFC 260 co-main event in March. Unfortunately, a positive COVID-19 test from the Australian forced a cancelation. Rather than an immediate rebooking, the pair instead heated their rivalry as coaches on season 29 of The Ultimate Fighter. After a long wait, the pair will finally collide inside the octagon in Saturday’s pay-per-view headliner.

Ahead of his title challenge, Ortega has revealed the positive impact former UFC bantamweight Champion TJ Dillashaw’s return to action had on him. In preparation for his main event bout with Cory Sandhagen in July, Dillashaw had trained with “T-City.”

Ortega believes the 35-year-old’s ability to make his comeback against one of the division’s best, and fight through early animosity in the form of a knee injury, proved to him that he’s training with the right team.

“It let me know the caliber of people I’m working with now, someone who could go out and do what he did in that kind of a situation,” Ortega said. “… And it helped my confidence because it lets me know I’m in the right place with the right people.” (h/t Yahoo Sport)

Dillashaw also returned the compliment. The Californian praised Ortega’s abilities, and suggested his reach advantage over Volkanovski could see him find success against the champ at UFC 266.

“I got some rounds in with him [when I was preparing for Sandhagen] and I was super impressed with him,” Dillashaw said. “He has a great jab, he’s able to keep the distance and he’s real tall for the weight class, especially fighting Volkanovski. He’s going to have such a huge reach advantage. His jab is so sneaky and he’s able to load up his punches.”

After serving a two-year suspension following a positive EPO test in 2019, Dillashaw jumped straight back into title contention with a split decision win against Sandhagen at UFC Vegas 32. The former 135-pound king is anticipating a shot at gold once he’s recovered from knee surgery in early 2022.

While he prepares for a likely clash against the victor of Aljamain Sterling’s championship rematch against Petr Yan at UFC 267, perhaps he’ll be receiving the help of the new featherweight champion, should Ortega emerge victorious this weekend inside the T-Mobile Arena.

Who do you think will have their hand raised at UFC 266? Brian Ortega or Alexander Volkanovski?

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O’Malley Says Dillashaw Proved Him Wrong With “Inspiring” Performance

UFC bantamweight Sean O’Malley has praised TJ Dillashaw for his performance against Cory Sandhagen at UFC Vegas 32 in July. Dillashaw, who is a former two-time UFC Bantamweight Champion, was making his return to the Octagon after more than two years on the sidelines. The 35-year-old had tested positive for EPO following his defeat to […]

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UFC bantamweight Sean O’Malley has praised TJ Dillashaw for his performance against Cory Sandhagen at UFC Vegas 32 in July.

Dillashaw, who is a former two-time UFC Bantamweight Champion, was making his return to the Octagon after more than two years on the sidelines. The 35-year-old had tested positive for EPO following his defeat to Henry Cejudo in 2019. The failed drug test resulted in a lengthy suspension for Dillashaw.

But adding doubt to the existence of ring rust, the Californian looked close to his best against Sandhagen. Without taking a tune-up fight, Dillashaw jumped straight into the deep end against “The Sandman,” who was ranked #2 in the division at the time. After battling some early adversity in the form of a knee injury and a deep cut, Dillashaw found his rhythm and grinded out a split decision victory.

Despite some suggesting Sandhagen should have had his hand raised, most agreed that Dillashaw’s performance was worthy of praise. Sean O’Malley is the latest individual to marvel at his peer’s return display.

During a recent appearance on Ariel Helwani’s The MMA Hour, “Suga” addressed the questions surrounding Dillashaw’s comeback. However, he suggested the 35-year-old answered them with one of the greatest performances he’s ever seen.

“Honestly, it was one of the sweetest performances I’ve seen, especially coming back, coming off so many question marks of, is he gonna have the cardio, is he gonna have the push, is he gonna have that same mindset with needles in his butt? He did. He was mentally there for 25 minutes, hurt his knee early on, was getting pieced up early on, and found a way to win. So that performance was actually very inspiring. It was really impressive, really good to watch.

“I was questioning. I didn’t know where he’d be. I was like, ‘We’ll see.’ I thought he wouldn’t have that same push, that same drive, that same cardio, and he did. So I was actually very impressed with that performance.”

Despite praising Dillashaw, O’Malley probably wouldn’t have been pleased to hear the former champ’s comments about him last month. While he may only be 26, Dillashaw suggested “Suga” has too many holes in his game to become a champion.

O’Malley will look to prove Dillashaw wrong, starting with his next appearance. Having defeated promotional newcomer Kris Moutinho at UFC 264 in July, the surging bantamweight star is on the hunt for an opponent for UFC 269 in December.

The Montana-born star was offered an intriguing clash with Frankie Edgar at UFC 268. However, the date clashed with a grappling tournament his coach Tim Welch is set to attend. Nevertheless, O’Malley looks set for one more fight before the close of this calendar year.

If he can rack up a few more wins, perhaps he can secure a meeting with Dillashaw inside the Octagon before the former champion calls time on his career.

What did you make of TJ Dillashaw’s return to action at UFC Vegas 32? Do you agree with Sean O’Malley?

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TJ Dillashaw Admits To Lying During Cory Sandhagen Fight

UFC bantamweight TJ Dillashaw has admitted he lied about his vision to the cageside doctor after suffering a bad cut against Cory Sandhagen. After serving a two-year suspension following a positive test for EPO in 2019, Dillashaw returned to action in …

UFC bantamweight TJ Dillashaw has admitted he lied about his vision to the cageside doctor after suffering a bad cut against Cory Sandhagen. After serving a two-year suspension following a positive test for EPO in 2019, Dillashaw returned to action in the UFC Vegas 32 main event in July. Against Sandhagen, who was the #2-ranked […]

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O’Malley Says He Has The Skills To Beat Yan, Dillashaw, And Sandhagen

Rising UFC bantamweight star Sean O’Malley believes he has the skill set to defeat the likes of Petr Yan, TJ Dillashaw, and Cory Sandhagen. After rebounding from his first MMA loss earlier this year with a dominant performance against Brazil&#821…

Rising UFC bantamweight star Sean O’Malley believes he has the skill set to defeat the likes of Petr Yan, TJ Dillashaw, and Cory Sandhagen. After rebounding from his first MMA loss earlier this year with a dominant performance against Brazil’s Thomas Almeida, O’Malley made his second appearance of 2021 at UFC 264 in July. Against […]

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Sean O’Malley Claims T.J. Dillashaw Turned Down SUG Fight

Sean O’Malley claims that T.J. Dillashaw turned down a jiu-jitsu match against him in Submission Underground (SUG). Speaking on his podcast, The BrO’Malley Show, O’Malley claimed Dillashaw turned down the opportunity to face “Th…

Sean O’Malley claims that T.J. Dillashaw turned down a jiu-jitsu match against him in Submission Underground (SUG). Speaking on his podcast, The BrO’Malley Show, O’Malley claimed Dillashaw turned down the opportunity to face “The Suga Show” at SUG, a grappling organization featuring some of the best submission artists competing against each other, hosted by none […]

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Dillashaw Opens Up On The Benefits Of His Two-Year USADA Suspension

T.J. Dillashaw isn’t sure he would take back the EPO incident that resulted in his two-year suspension from the sport of MMA. The former bantamweight champion returned to the UFC Octagon after more than two years out on the sidelines. The America…

T.J. Dillashaw isn’t sure he would take back the EPO incident that resulted in his two-year suspension from the sport of MMA. The former bantamweight champion returned to the UFC Octagon after more than two years out on the sidelines. The American was suspended by USADA for the use of performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) in his […]

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