Marlon Moraes Not Sure TJ Dillashaw Is ‘Really That Good’ After EPO Bust
The MMA world is still reeling from the news of former bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw’s failed drug test. That includes top contender Marlon Moraes.
Dillashaw was recently suspended for two years by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) after it came to light that he had tested positive for Erythropoietin (EPO). The banned substance notably helps with a fighter’s endurance and conditioning because it increases the oxygen-carrying capacity of blood.
Dillashaw vacated his title before the banned substance was revealed, with Moraes now facing flyweight champion Henry Cejudo for the vacant belt in the main event of UFC 238 in June.
While “Magic” is naturally happy to receive his first shot at UFC gold, he is still disappointed by the Dillashaw news, and now questions if the two-time champion was really as good as he was.
“We are all disappointed,” Moraes told MMA News. “It was a fairy tale. We don’t know if he’s really that good of a fighter. It’s hard cause every time we get into camp, we want to get into shape, we want to get our conditioning good and this guy he wasn’t worried at all about that. If he was cheating now, he was cheating before.
“He goes on the media and tries to say he’s giving up the belt. I think he was just trying to trick the fans but at the end of the day, what happened? They suspended him and I’m nobody to judge him but now he’s going to have to pay for what he did.”
A Longer Ban
Dillashaw is now out of action until January 2021, but Moraes believes he should have to suffer a longer punishment due to the severity of the situation.
“Two years is not enough. It’s not enough for what he does, it was really serious, that’s my opinion.
“He was cheating the system and that wasn’t the first time. That wasn’t the first time he was going to do it now with USADA all over everyone. Before, USADA wasn’t even around and I believe he was doing it before.”
Do you think Dillashaw should be suspended for even longer?
