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T.J. Dillashaw has unraveled a potential timeline for his return. The former UFC bantamweight champion suffered a second-round TKO loss against UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling at UFC 280 on October 22nd.
Dillashaw later revealed that he'd dislocated his left shoulder a few weeks before the fight. He'd managed to temporarily get it back into place but didn't fully recover. Speaking to ESPN MMA's Brett Okamoto, Dillashaw recalled that he'd requested the referee beforehand to not stop the Sterling matchup if his shoulder popped out mid-fight.
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After his shoulder did pop out in round one, his coaches helped get it back into its socket between rounds one and two. However, it dislocated yet again in round two, which eventually resulted in his TKO loss.
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T.J. Dillashaw suggested that he'd previously headed into fights with similar shoulder injuries, but this one was slightly worse. UFC president Dana White later asserted that Dillashaw should've informed the promotion regarding his injury.
Meanwhile, Dillashaw has insinuated that he was confident about competing and winning despite the injury. Dillashaw claimed that the injury worsened three weeks out from the fight and it would have been difficult for him to withdraw at the time.
Dillashaw is expected to undergo surgery on his left shoulder -- his second surgery on that shoulder and third shoulder surgery overall since 2019. While the surgery date hasn't been finalized, it'll likely take place next month, and he'll probably not compete for an entire year. Addressing his comeback timeline and desire to reclaim the bantamweight title, Dillashaw stated:
"Another year... Nine months until I can start training rough and tough, and then making sure everything is healed up. I've had shoulder surgery before and I'd say another year, maybe, to compete. Either a year to compete, or a year to get back to a training camp."
Aljamain Sterling on claims that he lucked out against T.J. Dillashaw at UFC 280
Some fans have criticized Aljamain Sterling for celebrating his win over T.J. Dillashaw. They believe Sterling was simply lucky to have faced a compromised Dillashaw at UFC 280. Not one to be outdone, 'Funk Master' has fired back at his detractors.
Responding to a tweet concerning the aforementioned topic, Aljamain Sterling compared his grappling prowess to the legendary grapplers from the mountains of Dagestan, Russia. Indicating that his grappling skills would've helped him overwhelm T.J. Dillashaw even if the latter wasn't injured, Sterling stated:
"I’ve grown use to it. They must think my grappling-use is somehow not dominant and it’s luck because I’m not from the mountains? Like I can’t be 'that good'? But even my mountain colleagues, respectfully, see and know my grappling is a problem for everybody."
