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In a candid interview with ESPN's Ariel Helwani, former UFC Bantamweight champion, TJ Dillashaw revealed the reason behind him using the banned substance that led to his suspension post his loss against Henry Cejudo at UFC on ESPN+1 back in January. (h/t MMA Mania)
“I took an anemia medication called Procrit, which the main ingredient in it was Erythropoietin (EPO). It helps rebuild blood cells. When you become anemic, your red blood cells start to plummet and you lose energy. I was on a super strict 1600-calorie day diet and working too hard. I pushed my body to extreme limits.”
Dillashaw revealed that he took the substance a month before the fight against Cejudo when he felt that the struggle to make weight was getting too difficult for him.
“I was getting down to that bare minimum weight where everything was affecting me. I didn’t want to wake up and train in the morning. I had to lose a bunch more weight and I didn’t want to go to the gym, I didn’t want to run and didn’t want to do what I had to do,” he said while revealing he took the banned substance immediately after being drug tested.
“I got drug tested and I decided I would be able to be clear until the fight, then I (expletive) up and made that decision. Like I said, I wanted to make it to the fight, I wanted to do something that was unheard of and I let it get the best of me.”
Although he said he had his reasons to do what he did, Dillashaw admitted that he made a mistake and there are no excuses for using banned substances. He also said that he regrets what he did and can't wait to get back inside the Octagon again.
“No excuses. I made the mistake of wanting to do somethe thing that hadn’t been done. I sold my soul to the devil and now I got to build myself back up and deal with it.”
Dillashaw won't be allowed to get back to fighting until 2021. Once he does, the bantamweight division will definitely look better stacked with the champ Cejudo set to return next year and the additions of former featherweight king Jose Aldo and MMA veteran Frankie Edgar.
