TJ Dillashaw vs. Cory Sandhagen confirmed to headline UFC on May 8th card

A huge bantamweight main event between Cory Sandhagen and TJ Dillashaw has reportedly been confirmed for May 8th. According to ESPN's Brett Okamoto, The Sandman will welcome Dillashaw back into the Octagon in what will be the latter's first fight since January 20th, 2019.

While an official fight announcement is yet to be made by the UFC, the promotion took to their official Instagram handle to confirm the news of the fight.

Here is the announcement made by the UFC on Instagram:

In his last fight in the UFC, Dillashaw failed to regain the UFC bantamweight championship from Henry Cejudo, and the fight ended within 32 seconds of the very first round.

Despite the controversy surrounding the fight's stoppage, many fight fans believed Cejudo's win over the former UFC bantamweight champion was a fair and deserved outcome.

Following his loss to Triple C, Dillashaw tested positive for the use of EPO and was suspended for two years. However, the 35-year-old is now set to mark his return against one of the bantamweight division's absolute best in Cory Sandhagen.

TJ Dillashaw is back ... Dillashaw (@TJDillashaw) vs. the surging Cory Sandhagen (@cors_life) has been agreed to for the date of May 8. Five-round main event, per sources. pic.twitter.com/8YOesqZUtl

— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) March 19, 2021

Cory Sandhagen is currently on a two-fight win streak and is aiming for a title shot

After losing to newly-crowned UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling at UFC 250, Cory Sandhagen returned to winning ways with two huge wins. First, Sandhagen defeated former title contender Marlon Moraes, courtesy of a brutal spinning heel kick.

In his last Octagon outing, The Sandman knocked out veteran Frankie Edgar with a spectacular flying knee to secure another impressive win. Sandhagen has been calling for a fight against Dillashaw for a while now, and it looks like the UFC has granted him his wish.

The May 8th UFC main event will surely decide the next number one contender for the UFC bantamweight title. New champion Sterling is expected to defend his title against Petr Yan, and the winner of that fight is expected to defend against either Dillashaw or Sandhagen.