“A competitive itch” – T J Dillashaw argues Dominick Cruz looked FRAGILE in his recent KO loss
T.J. Dillashaw and Dominick Cruz faced each other at UFC Fight Night 81 back in 2016
The former Bantamweight champion, T.J. Dillashaw is scheduled to fight the current 135lbs champion, Aljamain Sterling, for the gold at UFC 280 in Yas Island. Ahead of his fight, he did an interview with Mike Bohn at Ultimate Fitness Huntington Beach. The Californian native also discussed his former rival Dominick Cruz’s KO loss at the hands of Marlon Vera.
Dillashaw is currently on a one-fight win streak after returning from a long two-year suspension by USADA over EPO use. He is a former two-time Bantamweight champion. The former champ had successfully defended the UFC bantamweight title three times over two separate title reigns. His second title reign came to an abrupt end after he was forced to vacate the title in January 2019 after testing positive for EPO.
The Californian native and The Dominator have faced each other in the past for the Bantamweight title. The former champion said that he’s never lost confidence even after being away from the octagon for so long. The Dominator and Killashaw faced each other in January 2016, that was a controversial split decision that went in favour of the former WEC champion.
T. J. Dillashaw thinks Dominick Cruz should retire
Dominick Cruz recently suffered a KO loss to Bantamweight’s up-and-comer Marlon Vera. Cruz has been fighting for a very long time and is a former two-time UFC champion. He was also the last WEC champion. After the brutal loss, a lot of people in the MMA community were advising the Dominator to hang up the gloves. His former rival, Dillashaw somewhat had the same advice.
In an interview with MMA Junkie‘s Mike Bohn, Dillashaw discussed his matchup at UFC 280 for the title, his fight camp, his last fight, his views on Petr Yan vs Sean O’Malley and his thoughts on Cruz’s KO loss to Vera last weekend.
Talking about the former champion’s future after the loss, Dillashaw praised the former champion for his accomplishment but advised him to hang up the gloves, “He’s older, he’s been around the sport forever right? He’s a legend in the sport, He’s done a lot of great things, so, yeah if you’re not pushing for the belt it’s hard to your body through this.”
“I mean you don’t understand, I mean he obviously understands but people don’t understand the toll your body takes for pushing through a fight camp and getting ready. If you’re not pushing for the best then for me too I mean like what’s the point?” He added.
Dillashaw further added, “I mean he might always have that competitive itch in him too right he’s a very competitive guy so, has a chip on his shoulder about it so, we’ll see I he really can’t step away. Every time he got touched, he got dropped, I mean it didn’t look, he didn’t look very durable there, a little bit FRAGILE in the fight.”
Abhijit Singh
(125 Articles Published)