Is former UFC bantamweight champion T.J. Dillashaw retired?

According to reports, including from renowned MMA journalist Ariel Helwani, T.J. Dillashaw has notified the UFC of his retirement.

News of Dillashaw's possible retirement emerged after Helwani's former colleague Michael Wonsover put out a tweet stating that the former bantamweight champion had called time on his career.

Following this, Helwani confirmed the report with T.J. Dillashaw's manager and put out the following tweet:

In the video, Helwani said the following about Dillashaw's retirement:

"That is, in fact, true. I just spoke to T.J. Dillashaw's manager Tiki Ghosn, who's been with him for quite some time, and he informed me that that is accurate - that T.J. Dillashaw notified the UFC within the last two weeks that he was planning on retiring."

According to Ariel Helwani, T.J. Dillashaw's shoulder injury might have been the reason why the former bantamweight champion has retired. Helwani went on to say the following about Dillashaw's injury:

"Around a month ago, he had the shoulder surgery coming off the Aljamain Sterling fight. And, afterwards, when he met with his surgeon, the surgeon told him that it's going to be a long road [to recovery]. And, there's a chance that he might need a second surgery down the line, that it's a very delicate injury, that's it's one of the worst injuries to a shoulder that that particular surgeon had ever seen."

---

What is T.J. Dillashaw's MMA record?

T.J. Dillashaw has a UFC record of 13-5 and an overall MMA record of 17-5. With a 4-0 start to his pro career, Dillashaw first appeared in season 14 of The Ultimate Fighter and earned a spot in the finals. The season finale, which was Dillashaw's promotional debut, saw him suffer a first-round knockout loss to John Dodson.

Following his first career defeat, Dillashaw racked up four wins before losing to Raphael Assunção at UFC Fight Night 29 via split decision. After his second setback, Dillashaw went on to defeat Mike Easton before earning a last-minute title shot against then-champion Renan Barão.

In one of the greatest upsets in UFC history, Dillashaw put on a striking clinic against Barão before knocking him out in the fifth round to win the UFC bantamweight championship. Dillashaw defended his title twice, including once against Barão, before losing it to Dominick Cruz at UFC Fight Night 81.

Dillashaw then exacted revenge on Raphael Assunção and beat John Lineker in his next two bouts to earn his second title shot against Cody Garbrandt, who beat Cruz to become the bantamweight champion. Dillashaw had two epic title fights against Garbrandt, earning a knockout in each fight against his former teammate.

Following his wins against 'No Love', Dillashaw dropped down a weight class to challenge then-flyweight champion Henry Cejudo. Things didn't go as Dillashaw planned as he was knocked out by Cejudo in the first round.

Following the fight, Dillashaw tested positive for a banned substance and was stripped of his title in 2019.