Gruesome Facial Cut Forces TJ Dillashaw Out of Return Bout Against Cory Sandhagen

Former UFC bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw was set to return to action on May 8, 2021 to fight Cory Sandhagen following a two-year suspension for PEDs. Dillashaw has now been forced out of that scheduled bout after receiving a nasty cut on his eyebrow while preparing for the fight.

Dillashaw shared an uncomfortably-close image of that cut on Instagram.

TJ Dillashaw last competed in January 2019 when he lost to Henry Cejudo in an attempt to capture Cejudo’s UFC flyweight championship. Following that bout, Dillashaw was forced to relinquish his bantamweight championship as a result of a positive in-competition test for EPO; he was handed a two-year suspension.

Dillashaw first won the bantamweight strap in 2014 when he dominated then-champion Renan Barao from bell-to-bell. He twice defended that belt before losing it to Dominick Cruz in 2016. Dillashaw recaptured the title in 2017 when he knocked out Cody Garbrandt.

Dillashaw’s withdrawal put Cory Sandhagen in a tough spot. His lone UFC loss came in June 2020 against current bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling. Since then, he has won two straight by knockout against Marlon Moraes and Frankie Edgar, respectively.

Ben Coate

Ben has been involved with grappling, whether through wrestling or Brazilian jiu-jitsu, essentially his entire life. After wrestling throughout his childhood, Ben found Brazilian jiu-jitsu as a young adult and quickly fell in love. He has been training for over ten years and currently holds the rank of brown belt, and remains involved in both the MMA and BJJ scene. Ben has been writing about combat sports since 2017. He has interviewed and profiled some of MMA's biggest stars, including multiple UFC champions.

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