TJ Dillashaw

TJ Dillashaw, 2017

Tyler Jeffrey "TJ" Dillashaw (born February 7, 1986 in Sonora , California ) is a mixed martial arts fighter in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). TJ Dillashaw, nicknamed "The Viper", was UFC men's bantamweight champion until January 17, 2016 , losing the title fight against Dominick Cruz after 5 rounds via split decision. Dillashaw is currently number eleven on the UFC's pound-for-pound (P4P) list and was named the World's Best Bantamweight Fighter by Sherdog.com.

Life and early career

Dillashaw was born in Sonora to Hal and Janice Dillashaw. He grew up in Angels Camp , a small town with around 4,000 inhabitants. There he also attended high school and joined the wrestling team there at an early stage. Dillashaw was an excellent wrestler throughout his school years, which enabled him to be admitted to California State University at Fullerton (CSUF). There the 1.68 m tall Dillashaw competed for the university team, the Titans.

Mixed martial arts

After graduating from California State University, Dillashaw contemplated becoming an MMA fighter and starting a career there. At the invitation of Urijah Faber, WEC Featherweight Champion , Dillashaw joined the Alpha Male team. After just two fights, Dillashaw switched from the amateurs to the professionals.

On March 26, 2010 he made his debut against the then also unknown Czar Sklavos. Due to his superior wrestling techniques, Dillashaw managed to win the fight on points.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Dillashaw made his official UFC debut on December 3, 2011 in Las Vegas , Nevada at the final of The Ultimate Fighter 14. "The Viper" lost this fight by a technical knockout against John Dodson in the first round. In the second fight against Walel Watson, however, Dillashaw was able to dominate from the start and also won here thanks to his wrestling skills after a point decision. Until his last fight, Dillashaw counted as more of the average fighter with no special skills. However, this changed in an impressive way with his fight on May 24, 2014 at UFC 173. Actually, Dillashaw should have fought against the Japanese Takeya Mizugaki, but at short notice he became the challenger of the bantamweight champion Renan Barão. This resulted in one of the biggest surprises in UFC history. Dillashaw dominated the reigning champion at will and won by technical knockout in the fifth round. In August 2014 there should be a rematch between Dillashaw and Barão. However, the Brazilian dropped out due to an injury and was replaced by underdog Joe Soto , whom Dillashaw knocked out in the fifth round. In July 2015 there was a rematch with Barão, which Dillashaw won again thanks to an impressive performance by TKO. In January 2016, however, he lost his bantamweight title to a loss on points to Dominick Cruz .

In 2019, Dillashaw tested positive for Epo and banned for two years for doping .

Web links

• T.J. Dillashaw in the database of Sherdog (English)
• Dillashaw at the UFC
• TJ Dillashaw's Twitter profile
• Current UFC title holder men

Individual evidence

1. ↑ TJ Dillashaw in the Sherdog database , accessed January 18, 2016.
2. ↑ TJ Dillashaw at Alpha Male ( memento of the original from July 29, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Retrieved July 29, 2014. 
3. ^ TJ Dillashaw versus John Dodson . Retrieved July 30, 2014
4. ↑ UFCs biggest upsets ( Memento of the original from May 25, 2014 in the web archive archive.today ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Retrieved July 30, 2014. 
5. ^ TJ Dillashaw: Title fight on return of doping ban