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The moment TJ Dillashaw has been waiting for has finally arrived. After serving two years of suspension due to a failed drug test, the former UFC bantamweight champion returns to the octagon as the headliner of this weekend's UFC Vegas 32 event. Dillashaw takes on top contender Cory Sandhagen in what's expected to be a titanic clash to determine the next title challenger.
Ahead of the fight, Sportskeeda MMA's Andrew Whitelaw caught up with TJ Dillashaw to speak about his upcoming fight with Sandhagen, a potential title shot, wanting to see Conor McGregor bounce back from his recent loss, and the Irishman's infamous 'snake in the grass' comment.
TJ Dillashaw means business as he returns to the octagon after two years. He was willing to take on anyone in the top five of the bantamweight division and has his sights set on the title. Now that he is fighting Sandhagen, who is the top-ranked contender in the division, a win would likely open doors to a title shot for Dillashaw.
"Under top five. Anyone in the top five, I'll take the fight. I didn't want a tune-up fight, ultimately I wanted to go straight back to the belt and if that wasn't the case because of the debacle of Yan and Sterling, then I wanted someone in the top five so when they offered me Sandhagen, I absolutely wanted it because he's the #1 contender right now," said Dillashaw.
Also Read: 3 reasons why T.J. Dillashaw can regain the UFC bantamweight title and 2 reasons why he can't
While the MMA community is slowly but surely starting to turn its back on Conor McGregor after back-to-back losses, TJ Dillashaw wants to see the Irishman bounce back from defeat. Dillashaw acknowledges that McGregor sometimes comes off as a brash personality but won't kick a man when he's down.
"I mean I'd actually like to see him bounce back from it. Now's the time that I'd actually rather root for him. When things are tough, right? That's when you know that this is a crazy sport that we live because of the highest highs and the lowest lows and right now he's on a low. That's the time to root for him because when he is at the highest high, to be honest he's kind of a d**k you know."
TJ Dillashaw also believes McGregor is obsessed with being the best in the sport, and knowing his personality, the former bantamweight champ is rooting for 'Notorious' to bounce back stronger than ever. For that to happen, Dillashaw believes McGregor needs to get back to his roots.
Speaking about the Irishman's trilogy fight with Dustin Poirier at UFC 264, TJ Dillashaw claimed McGregor was being mauled by 'Diamond' in the first round. However, if not for the leg break, Dillashaw doesn't believe McGregor would have definitely lost the fight.
Also Read: UFC betting odds: Who is favored by bookmakers to win the main event of UFC Vegas 32?
TJ Dillashaw wasn't offended by Conor McGregor's infamous 'snake in the grass' jibe
TJ Dillashaw further clarified that he wasn't offended by Conor McGregor's infamous 'snake in the grass' comment about him. Dillashaw explained MMA is an individual sport and McGregor insinuated that 'Lieutenant Dan' was starting to think more about himself than the team. Dillashaw doesn't think there's anything wrong with that.
He also believes McGregor made the remark to get under Dillashaw's former teammate Urijah Faber's skin.
"You know, to be honest, he was trying to get underneath Urijah's skin being a coach. It was probably a little stab at me trying to say that I'm slowly focusing on myself which I didn't take as an insult because I'm in an individualized sport."
"And yeah we have teammates we train with, who help out like Juan Archuleta, I'll be in his corner forever and help him get to where he needs to be at but when I coach him I tell him 'you need to be selfish. You need to do what's best for you. What's going to get you to the top, what's going to get your family paid, what are you going to live on.' This is't a team sport."
Check out TJ Dillashaw's exclusive interview with Sportskeeda MMA below:
