T.J. Dillashaw Laments Early Retirement, Likely Needs Second Shoulder Surgery

T.J. Dillashaw says that ongoing shoulder issues forced him to call it quits before he truly wanted to leave mixed martial arts.

The former bantamweight champion announced his retirement late last year following a loss to Aljamain Sterling in a 135-pound title bout at UFC 280. Dillashaw admitted afterward that he entered the matchup with a shoulder injury and that it popped out during the fight. He also revealed that he dislocated the shoulder at least 20 times during training camp.

In a post on Instagram, Dillashaw lamented the injury that led to him exiting the sport while revealing that he will likely need a second shoulder surgery.

“This is retirement,” he wrote. “But in all honesty I’m pretty pissed that I didn’t get the chance to choose to retire. I feel that I’m [too] good to hang ‘em up. Haven’t told many people but I have to go under the knife again for surgery because my first surgery didn’t take. Being told that my shoulder will never be good enough to compete again is hard to hear. I have been delaying my surgery trying to find a better solution.”

Dillashaw went 1-1 after serving a two-year USADA suspension for testing positive for recombinant human erythropoietin (EPO) in relation to a loss to Henry Cejudo at UFC Fight Night 143 in January 2019. Dillashaw relinquished the UFC’s bantamweight belt when news of the positive test came to light. He returned to edge Corey Sandhagen via split decision in the UFC on ESPN 27 headliner in July 2021 before suffering the lopsided defeat to Sterling.

Prior to the failed drug test that tarnished his reputation, Dillashaw built a resume that rivals most any bantamweight in the sport. He upset Renan Barao at UFC 173 to capture the 135-pound strap and defended it twice before falling to Dominick Cruz at UFC Fight Night 81. Dillashaw regained the title by stopping Cody Garbrandt at UFC 217 and defended it against “No Love” in a rematch at UFC 227. “The Ultimate Fighter 14” finalist went 13-5 within the Las Vegas-based promotion, earning notable wins against the likes of Sandhagen, Garbrandt (twice), John Lineker, Raphael Assuncao and Barao (twice).