TJ Dillashaw Plans To Get UFC Bantamweight Belt Back Soon

In an interview with the Real Quick with Mike Swick podcast (via MMA Weekly), TJ Dillashaw spoke about his plans to get the UFC bantamweight belt back quickly after he vacated it in March of 2019 following a positive drug test. He tested positive in pre and post-fight drug tests for erythropoietin (EPO). Dillashaw was then suspended for two years by USADA, retroactive to his last fight in January of that year. That suspension expired on January 19 of this year. Here are highlights:

On what’s next for him: “There’s been some talks right, but nothing can be announced yet. I’m in a good situation. I think everyone in the top five has called me out.”

On knowing he doesn’t have a lot of time left as a fighter: “I wanna come back and fight the best. I’m 35 years old now. I wanna come back and prove I’m the best bantamweight of all time.”

On the fight he wants: “I’m ready to go straight for the belt. I know that [Petr] Yan wants it. He’s already been vocally talking about it. We’ll see what happens on March 6 when he fights [Aljamain] Sterling. That’s the fight he wants. I didn’t leave this sport by losing my belt. He knows that there’s a lot of speculation if he’s the real champ because he hasn’t beaten the real champion to get that belt.”