Cory Sandhagen: TJ Dillashaw Without EPO Is Still Dangerous
Cory Sandhagen refuses to believe TJ Dillashaw will return a lesser fighter after serving a two-year doping ban.
The former bantamweight champion tested positive for EPO in the aftermath of his knockout loss to Henry Cejudo, who defended his featherweight title when they fought in January 2019.
Dillashaw was slapped with a lengthy ban for his blatant cheating and hasn’t fought since.
He’ll return to the Octagon when he fights Sandhagen on May 8.
Sandhagen is refusing to listen to talk of Dillashaw being a lesser fighter ahead of his return and insists he’s been preparing for the best version of the former 135lb king.
“The guy’s been out for two-and-a-half years almost now, so who knows what he’s been doing in that time?” Sandhagen told MMA Junkie. “I know that he had a couple of shoulder surgeries, which put him out for a little bit, and I know that I’ve been working really hard in those two years. I don’t really know what he’s been doing, but yeah, I suppose that’s probably the narrative that T.J. is probably gonna come back as a not-as-great version of T.J., but that’s just a narrative that I’m not gonna buy into. I’m gonna buy into the narrative which is gonna keep me safer, which is T.J. is gonna come back a better T.J.”
“If he was on EPO or whatever type of drugs he was on for his entire career and he’s off of them, then that’s 100 percent gonna play a factor,” Sandhagen continued. “Am I banking on that? Absolutely not. But if that is the case, which I have no idea if that’s the case or not, then, yeah, he’s probably not gonna be coming back the same guy.”
Do you think TJ Dillashaw will be at his best when he squares off against Cory Sandhagen?
