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It looks like former bantamweight champion T.J. Dillashaw will have to undergo surgery for an injury he picked up earlier this month. He sustained a shoulder injury during his bantamweight title clash against Aljamain Sterling at UFC 280 in Abu Dhabi.
Watch T.J. Dillashaw dislocate his shoulder below:
The 36-year-old's shoulder got dislocated while defending a takedown from 'Funk Master' in the first round. Even though his corner managed to pop it back in-between rounds, the issue prevailed in the second and he ultimately lost via TKO.
Speaking to Brett Okamoto of ESPN MMA, Dillashaw shared that the procedure on his shoulder was going to sideline him for the better part of an entire year. The Californian, however, clarified that he intends to fight in the UFC again:
"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."
This will mark the fighter's third shoulder surgery since 2019 and the second on his left shoulder. According to an article by Bleacher Report, the former champion underwent surgeries to rectify a torn labrum and biceps in 2019.
T.J. Dillashaw was reportedly already suffering from a shoulder injury coming into UFC 280. He popped his shoulder 20 times during training camp for the title fight.
Dana White furious at T.J. Dillashaw for hiding his shoulder injury
During the post-fight press conference at UFC 280, the promotion's president Dana White hit out at T.J. Dillashaw for not making the UFC and the Athletic Commission aware of the issue with his shoulder.
The 53-year-old expressed that there was no way of knowing that the fighter was in such a condition as he showed up for the event in top shape:
"I had no idea, that's a problem... Well how could the Athletic Commission know if he doesn't tell us. You know what I mean, you've got to tell us. I mean, he looked good, he was in great shape. It's not like he came in out of shape, he looked like he is injured... Yeah, that's something he should have told us."
Watch Dana White talk about T.J. Dillashaw hiding his injury below:
