Dillashaw had a serious shoulder injury previously, when he had his last fight. He might not be able to continue the journey of fighting. The break was necessary so that he could recover and fight again. That injury caused serious damage to his career.
If someone else were in the shoes of this champ, they might have given up long ago, but he has some other plans. It shows that he is a man of his word, and he does what he says. But he’s not sure if he will ever be able to continue fighting again due to his shoulder injury, which essentially ended his MMA career.
T.J. Dillashaw vs. Aljamain final fight
“It’s just gotten worse and worse from each surgery,” he said. “I had a massive surgery. I went to the world’s best specialist, and it’s like he’s never seen anything like it. He was 38 when he had to deal with the massive injury. Aljamain and T.J. had a fight, which was his last fight. The ex-UFC bantamweight champion hung up his gloves in 2022 following a defeat to Aljamain Sterling. The Champ is still going through the struggle of persistent shoulder problems despite several surgeries. Dillashaw later disclosed that he “probably dislocated” his shoulder about 20 times during his training camp for that fight.
Almost two years later, he continues to face difficulties with his shoulder after yet another surgery, which has further restricted his movement. “It’s f*cking depressing. As a competitor, you have to be delusionally optimistic, but that’s also what got me in this position too.”
Final days of career
Dillashaw struggled with shoulder issues in the final stretch of his UFC career, leading him to eventually retire. Since his shoulder injury, he has been treated with medical help in the hopes of recovery. We all hope that he will recover soon, but until now there have been a few good updates, so we can say that he might have a comeback to fight again. From muscle grafts to cadaver parts, he has undergone numerous invasive surgeries to repair his shoulder, yet he remains far from fully healed.
“I’m hoping that maybe just me staying after my [physical therapy] is going to make it better, better, and better.” At the height of his career, Dillashaw was seen as one of the sport’s top fighters and a standout in the bantamweight division. But now the situation is different, as he mentioned. “He removed my lower trap and put it in my shoulder, removed a piece of my lower trap, and replaced two of my rotator cuffs with it.”
Journey from professional fighter to injury
He also had a suspension for two years before the injury. After a two-year suspension for testing positive for EPO, he made a successful return in 2021, defeating Cory Sandhagen and earning another title shot.
While he had his shoulder injury, he continued to fight and didn’t care much about the injury. However, ongoing shoulder issues led to a loss against Sterling and ultimately forced Dillashaw to retire. He as well as the medical staff have been struggling to recover.
“I can’t even raise my arm in the air yet,” the injured Champ said on the Jaxxon podcast when asked about going for his black belt in the future. “I don’t know if my shoulder’s ever going to be the same again. Despite numerous efforts to heal and possibly return to the sport, it appears his fighting days are behind him, and now he’s focused on living a better quality of life. “It’s depressing,” Dillashaw said. “Going from being a professional athlete to having one arm. It’s a tough pill to swallow.”
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