Tag: TJ Dillashaw

TJ Dillashaw Opens Up About Intentionally Cheating, Explains His Decision

Former UFC bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw has given his first in-depth interview since his Untied States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) suspension. Dillashaw tested positive for the banned substance EPO and was subsequently handed a two-year suspension. “The Viper” was very open from the jump about intentionally using the substance, despite knowing it was banned. Now, he […]

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Former UFC bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw has given his first in-depth interview since his Untied States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) suspension.

Dillashaw tested positive for the banned substance EPO and was subsequently handed a two-year suspension. “The Viper” was very open from the jump about intentionally using the substance, despite knowing it was banned. Now, he has explained his decision to do so in a recent interview with former multi-time UFC title challenger, and current Bellator fighter, Chael Sonnen.

The pair discussed the matter on Sonnen’s podcast, “You’re Welcome,” and Dillashaw explained that his cut down to 125 pounds for his flyweight title fight against Henry Cejudo was the reason he decided to take EPO. His body started to crash during the weight cut, and Dillashaw needed to re-energize himself, as he was losing motivation to go to the practice room:

“I’ve hidden out, I haven’t done any interviews, I haven’t done – I’ve just kind of hidden away from – there’s things I’ve been wanting to say, but I didn’t, because I don’t want to create any excuses,” Dillashaw said. “Let’s start off, first and foremost, I cheated. I don’t want to run around that, that’s why even I announced it when USADA was coming out. I didn’t want to create excuses.

“It was like, look, this is it, I did it, I want to be upfront with you guys. I didn’t want to create any excuses of why I did it, I knew eventually I would talk about it, and this is now, it’s the first time I have. I was so into doing something that has never been done before. Not the two champs. Obviously, I wanted that more than anything, I wanted to prove I’m the best in the world, but was also to drop that weight class. I’m a lean 135’er. I wanted to drop the weight class to go to the 125s, and I played it off to how easy it was going to be. “I can do this, no problem, I always cut weight.”

“And I pushed my body to the extreme. About six weeks out, my body started to crash, I started to get tired, I started feeling I didn’t want to wake up for practice. I test everything. I test my hair for toxins, I test my saliva for hormone levels – I want to be the most optimized athlete I possibly can. And I started crashing.”

Dillashaw then divulged he took Procrit, an anemia medication that would help him make weight for the contest. Interestingly, Dillashaw said he’s not mad he actually took the banned substance, as he wouldn’t have been able to fight without it. However, he is owning up to the fact that he cheated, and that in of itself has taken a toll on him:

“I decided to take something I knew I wasn’t allowed to take,” Dillashaw admitted. “It’s called Procrit, it’s an anemia medication that would help me, not only make the weight, but be myself. And, you know, I’m not mad I did it, because I don’t think I could’ve taken the fight. I’m obviously going to own up that I cheated, I got caught – it’s a rough one man. It’s hard not to hate yourself a little bit. To – I don’t know. It’s a tough one.”

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Henry Cejudo Is UFC’s Strangest Superstar After Becoming Two-Division Champion

Just a couple of days ago, before he beat the brakes off Marlon Moraes in the main event of UFC 238 on Saturday night to win the bantamweight title, Henry Cejudo showed up to a press conference wearing a robe and crown…

Just a couple of days ago, before he beat the brakes off Marlon Moraes in the main event of UFC 238 on Saturday night to win the bantamweight title, Henry Cejudo showed up to a press conference wearing a robe and crown…

Urijah Faber Targets Eventual Fight With TJ Dillashaw

Urijah Faber already has his next fight booked under the UFC banner, but that doesn’t mean he’s not targeting a fight with former UFC bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw. The former WEC champion and multi-time UFC title challenger is slated to meet Ricky Simon in a bantamweight bout at the upcoming UFC Sacramento event. Dillashaw got […]

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Urijah Faber already has his next fight booked under the UFC banner, but that doesn’t mean he’s not targeting a fight with former UFC bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw.

The former WEC champion and multi-time UFC title challenger is slated to meet Ricky Simon in a bantamweight bout at the upcoming UFC Sacramento event. Dillashaw got a lot of flack for leaving Team Alpha Male in 2015, which is owned by Faber, for a more lucrative contract to train at Team Elevation in Colorado.

When Cody Garbrandt won the bantamweight title at UFC 207, it set up a rivalry fight for one of the hottest feuds in mixed martial arts (MMA) over the past couple of years. The two fighters had been jawing at each other publicly since Dillashaw left Alpha Male. Dillashaw knocked out his former training partner to win the UFC bantamweight title at the UFC 217 pay-per-view (PPV) event in New York from Madison Square Garden.

In their rematch, Dillashaw scored a first-round knockout victory over Garbrandt in the main event of UFC 227. Faber made it known during a recent interview with Ariel Helwani that he’s more than willing to wait in order to fight Dillashaw in the near future. Dillashaw recently accepted a two-year suspension from the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA).

The ex-bantamweight king was caught with EPO in his system and is ineligible to compete until January 2021. Despite the setback, Faber doesn’t appreciate fighters trying to get an advantaged. That adds another layer to their bad blood:

“So if he comes back it will be, I guess, a year and a half, that’s not that long. We will have to see how that pans out,” Faber said (H/T to MMAMania). “The guys that don’t cheat, the guys that don’t do EPO, and HGH, and micro-dosing, testosterone or whatever the hell the kids are doing these days have a better longevity. Joints, just your body intact.

“You are operating as your body is supposed to. For me, I think that is part of the reasons why I have been in the top my entire career, the top echelon. The top ten, the top two, the top three, the top one my entire career. So, I feel good.”

”We will have to see at that point,” Faber concluded. “When you think of big fights for me in the weight class, Kron [Gracie] was exciting because there is a lot of hype around him right now and the history of his family. But, there is no history like the T.J. Dillashaw history that’s for sure.”

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Marlon Moraes: Henry Cejudo’s Win Over TJ Dillashaw Was A Fluke

Marlon Moraes wants a definitive win over Henry Cejudo when they collide in the main event of UFC 238 this weekend (Sat. June 8, 2019). Both fighters will compete for the vacant bantamweight title in Chicago, and they certainly deserve to be in their spots. Moraes is on a four-fight winning streak; including finishes over […]

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Marlon Moraes wants a definitive win over Henry Cejudo when they collide in the main event of UFC 238 this weekend (Sat. June 8, 2019).

Both fighters will compete for the vacant bantamweight title in Chicago, and they certainly deserve to be in their spots. Moraes is on a four-fight winning streak; including finishes over Aljamain Sterling, Jimmie Rivera, and Raphael Assuncao. As for Cejudo, he became flyweight champion when he out-pointed pound-for-pound great Demetrious Johnson.

“The Messenger” would then defend his title against former bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw, knocking him out in the first round of their UFC Brooklyn matchup earlier this year. While “Magic” respects Cejudo’s recent accomplishments, he feels the Dillashaw win was a fluke, given the nature of the fight.

Many others do as well, which is why Moraes wants to leave now questions when he faces Cejudo this weekend:

“We all got holes and matchups make champions and I think Henry Cejudo is a great matchup for me,” Moraes told MMA Junkie Radio. “I’m very confident in all I see him doing in the cage. Of course, he beat a legend, Demetrious Johnson. He beat, in my opinion, another guy that can be a legend in the future – TJ Dillashaw, he’s a great martial artist.

“But we didn’t get to see much his last fight. I think TJ got what you need to beat Henry. I think it was a fluke, it was just a matter (of) day. That was Henry’s day. But I worked hard. I’m well prepared for this fight. And I don’t want no flukes. I’m going out there. Perform, perform well and win. And leave no doubt who’s the best 135-pounder now.”

Moraes Prepared For Five Rounds

Given Moraes’ recent hot streak with his last three wins ending in the first round, one would think he plans on doing the same with Cejudo. However, the Brazilian is ready to go all five rounds as well, and says the outcome of the fight will ultimately hinge on their performances:

“It depends on how Henry Cejudo is going to perform, depends on how I’m going to perform,” Moraes added. “It’s about timing and momentum. We’re going to feel. I’m going out there for five rounds, five tough rounds, but we never know. Maybe he will come too hard and he’s going to go home earlier.”

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Urijah Faber calls TJ Dillashaw ‘a master of turning himself into the victim’ after doping suspension

Few people know former UFC bantamweight champion T.J. Dillashaw better than the man who recruited him from college wrestling and brought him into the sport of mixed martial arts. Urijah Faber was a teammate and coach to Dillashaw from the day he decide…

Few people know former UFC bantamweight champion T.J. Dillashaw better than the man who recruited him from college wrestling and brought him into the sport of mixed martial arts. Urijah Faber was a teammate and coach to Dillashaw from the day he decided to fight and the two remained close for several years while working […]

The post Urijah Faber calls TJ Dillashaw ‘a master of turning himself into the victim’ after doping suspension appeared first on MMA News.

Urijah Faber: TJ Dillashaw Will Keep Looking For ‘An Advantage’

Urijah Faber believes TJ Dillashaw will return to the Octagon as a “beast” but not for the right reasons. Dillashaw was suspended for two years after testing positive for Erythropoietin (EPO) — a banned substance that increases a fighter’s endurance. He notably vacated his bantamweight title before the banned substance was revealed to the public. […]

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Urijah Faber believes TJ Dillashaw will return to the Octagon as a “beast” but not for the right reasons.

Dillashaw was suspended for two years after testing positive for Erythropoietin (EPO) — a banned substance that increases a fighter’s endurance.

He notably vacated his bantamweight title before the banned substance was revealed to the public. Dillashaw would apologize on Instagram soon after and admit to messing up, though he never explicitly stated what he did.

And for Faber, that’s another instance of Dillashaw playing the victim card, especially after the whole drama of leaving Team Alpha Male.

Faber also believes Dillashaw will continue to find a way to cheat the system as he did leading up to his failed drug test.

“He’s going to be a beast [when he returns in 2021],” Faber explained on MMA Tonight (h/t Aaron Bronsteter). “He’ll put the scientist’s cap back on and figure out how he can have an advantage.

“That’s the way he plays. It’s one thing if people just cheat. It’s another thing if they cheat and they’re really intelligent about it and they work really hard and they have natural gifts and that’s the scenario here. If you’re going to be a cheat, you may as well be a cheat like that.”

People Will Forget Eventually

Many have debated as to how Dillashaw’s legacy will be viewed following this latest development. But Faber believes people will eventually forget after some time.

“Now, do I think he’ll be clean? Will there be after effects from whatever he’s been doing all these years? Probably, he’ll have made some gains on that,” Faber added. “There’s no doubt that he’ll be a tough guy and people will forget about it like all the other guys who’ve been caught cheating.”

Do you agree with Faber?

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