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T.J. Dillashaw (17-5 MMA) has reportedly chosen to retire from the UFC and the sport of MMA after his most recent shoulder surgery. Dillashaw has suffered multiple shoulder injuries over the years.
The former UFC bantamweight champion has been dealing with shoulder issues since 2017. He underwent major shoulder surgery and rehab during his PED suspension period (January 2019-January 2021).
Dillashaw entered his last fight, a UFC bantamweight title matchup against defending champion Aljamain Sterling in October of this year, with an injured left shoulder. The shoulder was dislocated multiple times during training camp and gave way during the matchup as well. The injury resulted in a second-round TKO loss to Dillashaw in a one-sided fight.
T.J. Dillashaw subsequently underwent surgery on his left shoulder, his second surgery on the shoulder and his third shoulder surgery overall since 2019. ESPN's Michael Wonsover reported that Dillashaw has notified the UFC of his retirement.
Ariel Helwani has now posted a tweet addressing the same. Helwani confirmed that the news was indeed true and stated:
"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."
He added:
"Basically, 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, and there's a chance that he might need a second surgery down the line, that it's a very delicate injury, that it's one of the worst injuries to a shoulder that that particular surgeon had ever seen."
Additionally, Ariel Helwani highlighted that T.J. Dillashaw has dealt with multiple knee and shoulder injuries in recent years and that he'd perhaps gotten emotional and decided to retire. He explained that Dillashaw's decision came as a shock to Tiki Ghosn and the UFC.
Helwani recalled his conversation with Dillashaw after his UFC 280 fight, adding that the 36-year-old had spoken about wanting to complete his injury rehab and make another run at the bantamweight title. On that note, he indicated that once Dillashaw recovers from his injury, the MMA veteran could potentially end his retirement. Helwani noted, however, that as of now, Dillashaw is retired.
Watch Helwani discuss the topic in the video below:
