‘I looked like a crackhead’ - Dillashaw expresses ‘regret’ in 2019 flyweight move
Former UFC bantamweight champion T.J. Dillashaw looks back on his one-time stint at flyweight.
Former UFC champion T.J. Dillashaw tried his hand at flyweight in 2019 when he challenged then-champion Henry Cejudo. As we all saw, it was a failed experiment that took away two years from his fighting career.
The 36-year-old Dillashaw had often been candid about what he described as a “giant mistake,” and some credit does go to him for that. And if you ask him if he will ever make another run at 125 pounds, this was his response.
“That’s why I f—ked up. My body was dying. (They were) telling me I couldn’t do it. I got below 4% body fat,” Dillashaw told the media during the UFC 273 scrum on Saturday.
“I see pictures of myself. I thought I looked good at the time, right? But I see pictures of myself now, I looked like a crackhead. It was disgusting.”
When asked if he felt any regret for making the drop, Dillashaw had this to say.
“I do and I don’t. I knew it was a lot of work, but yeah, I definitely regret it because I wouldn’t have been sitting out for two years.”
Dillashaw has since bounced back with a win over fellow top-five contender Cory Sandhagen in his return fight last July. He is now the frontrunner to face reigning champion Aljamain Sterling, who defended the undisputed title against Petr Yan at UFC 273.