#8: TJ Dillashaw
Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
Dillashaw’s career has been defined not just by his great wins, but also by his losses. Chad Mendes described TJ as “The most competitive person I’ve ever met in my entire life”, and that’s definitely evident when you look at the arc of his career along with the improvements he made along the way. Attacking his flaws with the same absolute aggression he displays in the cage is what has turned Dillashaw into one of the greatest fighters of all time. He always dared to be great and never feared failure, knowing that, in the words of Henry Ford- “Failure is only the opportunity to begin again, only this time more wisely.”.
Very few fighters can say they reached the peaks Dillashaw has, even fewer have achieved such greatness whilst also suffering such crushing low points. He tore his way through the TUF house, only to be sent sprawling by a John Dodson flurry in the 1st rd of the finale. Amassed an impressive 4 fight win streak, only to lose a close split decision to Raphael Assuncao. He slayed the apparent P4P No.1 that was Renan Barao. Lost his belt to Dominick Cruz, and then won it back by knocking out his bitter foe Cody Garbrandt. Earlier this year he lost it all when he dared to take on Henry Cejudo at 125 lbs, and after suffering an embarrassing 32-second KO loss Dillashaw tested positive for EPO. Humiliated, he had little choice but to relinquish his belt, accept a 2 year ban from the sport, and admit using the banned substance.
In this article, I'll take you through Dillashaw’s storied career, and how he arguably became the greatest bantamweight of all time.
Early Career TJ
It all took took off for Dillashaw when he entered the TUF house, where he ran through the competition in vicious fashion. Out of the 3 opponents he bested on the show, only Dustin Pague survived until the final bell, with TJ winning a lopsided decision. Dillashaw was extremely impressive for such an inexperienced fighter. He showed the TD’s and scrambling ability that we have come to expect of TAM products, but also showed off a brutal, high output top game as well as a quirky, interesting striking game; all brought together in a myriad of violence and aggression.
After hitting a takedown and locking down a position—typically either half guard or side control—Dillashaw looked to create space in order to rain down as much GnP as possible. His scrambling ability gave him the confidence to let loose strikes with reckless abandon.
Despite this inherent aggression in Dillashaw’s game, he was still picking his shots intelligently; Dillashaw used wrist control to manipulate openings, he posted on the head and dropped elbows to land strikes whilst also keeping his man in place, and looked to explode into passes, always throwing heavy strikes as he did so.
He showed some glimpses of his future self on the feet, but was largely unrefined and would often make bad mistakes whilst trying to be creative. He would exit the pocket well after exchanges sometimes, (mainly after throwing the right hand) keeping him safe from return fire, and did a great job of striking into his takedowns. But apart from that his striking left a lot to be desired.
Dillashaw went into the finale with high hopes. With his dominant showings on TUF behind him, he was confident he would be crowned the champion of the show.
He had every right to be, after all, he closed a -200 favourite over the undersized John Dodson. In the end this only served to add to TJ’s dismay, when he was felled in less than two minutes.
A poorly executed blitz left Dillashaw in the pocket with his stance squared and his head on the centre line. Far too appetising a target for a potent counter puncher like Dodson, who slipped off to the side and dropped Dillashaw with a crushing left hook before following up for the finish.
After his loss to Dodson, TJ decided it was time to get back to his roots. He paid the price for standing with Dodson, and wasn’t keen on suffering a similar fate anytime soon. He shot for a takedown just 3 seconds into his next bout, a thorough domination of Wilel Watson, and then outgrappled Vaughan Lee; snatching a submission within 2 minutes. It was before his next bout however, that everything changed.
Duane Ludwig joined Team Alpha Male.
Duane
TJ’s next bout verses Issei Tamura was massively important in his development as a fighter. Ludwig taught TJ how to actually make his movement based style effective, connecting the movement with his offence, and teaching him to stay safe whilst doing so (although he was still working on that).
He stripped his striking down to the roots, and didn’t endanger himself by switching stances constantly or blitzing like he had in previous fights. Instead, TJ used jabs, teeps and feints early, testing Tamura’s reactions and keeping his opponent on the defensive. Comfortable at long range, TJ made use of his kicking game, making sure to confuse his opponent and keep them thinking about what was to come.
Doing so gave TJ long enough to make a read; Tamura was moving to his right (TJ’s left) and then looking to counter with the right hand. The offence that ensued was truly exceptional work, and the best we had seen from Dillashaw on the feet by far.
He took the outside angle after throwing a right hand, just as I mentioned earlier, but this time he darted back in with strikes, nailing Tamura with a 1-2 before showing his craft by baiting the right hand with the jab, and countering it with one of his own. The first round came to a close as Dillashaw pressed forward, looking to land his right hand again and again; chasing a retreating Tamura.
(Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
The fight ended with the first strike of the second round.
TJ stepped out to his left as he feinted with the right hand, and then wrapped his left shin around the dome of Tamura; right as he ducked into it.
The next important bout in the map of Dillashaw's career was his first vs Raphael Assuncao. The veteran and wildly underrated counter striker was riding a four fight win streak, and proved a tough matchup for the aggressive Dillashaw.
Assuncao established his counter game straight away, using it to take away Dillashaw’s boxing. The veteran used simultaneous shots to stop Dillashaw’s flurries as soon as they'd begun, and slipped or stepped back from shots prior to nailing TJ with full and half beat counters; calmly exiting the pocket as or after he did so. Combining this with solid, fundamental defensive footwork, Raphael gave him fits.
Struggling to get his boxing going, TJ opted to use his kicks more, but Asuuncao started catching his kicks and took those away in the second round, too. Dillashaw was never one to concede a fight, though. He continued to press forward, trying a multitude of different approaches including hitting takedowns and outgrappling Assuncao, as well as just trying to shrug off the counters and overwhelm the veteran with volume. In the end though, it wasn't enough. Assuncao is a highly touted grappler and TJ didn't have the defence to hang around in the pocket for extended periods. TJ ended up out of answers and on the end of Raphael’s jab for most of the third round, costing him the fight.
TJ fixed, at least functionally, all of these issues; in just over 3 months.
When he stepped into the cage vs Mike Easton, Dillashaw looked like another fighter once again. His defence and distance management had improved massively and as a result, so had his pocket boxing and countering. Most importantly, though, Dillashaw continued the trend of connecting his improvements to his offence. Incorporating the use of proactive head movement with a new found comfort in close gave Dillashaw the ability to press forward and attack whilst keeping himself safe. Even switching stances as he rolled under hooks so he could present new, unexpected dangers as he came up on the other side, Dillashaw was no longer just a dangerous fighter, he was arguably the best fighter the bantamweight division had ever seen; he just needed the opportunity to prove it.
The Dillashaw Era?
That opportunity came a few months later at UFC 173. TJ was supposed to be facing Takeya Mizugaki, but instead got bumped up to the main event after an injury shuffled the deck.
He’d now face Renan Barao—the UFC’s newest star child—for the 135lb title.
The Brazilian wrecking ball had gone unbeaten for an astonishing 32 fights in a row (31 W’s, 1 NC) since losing in his pro debut, something very rarely seen in MMA. Whilst many of those were wins were against relative nobodies on the regional scene of Brazil, the streak was still impressive. There’s so many offensive tools in MMA that it’s not easy to win consistently with little trouble. Despite being a tremendous fighter, Barao ended up a little overrated. The majority of the big names on his resume were fighters just starting to decline. Names like Brad Pickett, Scott Jorgensen and Urijah Faber all sounded impressive, but in hindsight, it's safe to say they were aging talents. Bantamweight was a little barren at the time, and didn’t receive it’s resurgence with talents such as Garbrandt, Munhoz, Sterling, Rivera and Petr Yan until a little while after.
Nevertheless, Barao ran the division with an iron fist during the injury induced absence of Dominick Cruz, finishing the 3 challengers he’d faced with ease and had only been troubled once in the span of his 8 fight UFC career; in a fight he went on to win via submission.
The UFC went into full hype machine mode, both Dana White and Joe Rogan touted Barao as P4P No.1 and the Brazilian reached No.3 in the UFC’s official P4P rankings. The UFC clearly wanted to make a star out of Barao, and who can blame them? After all, there didn’t seem to be any threats on the horizon.
Dillashaw toppled the bantamweight kingpin with stunning ease, drubbing him from the start of the fight until Herb Dean mercifully stepped into save the champion from a barrage of strikes in the final round.
Dillashaw smartly used lots of lateral movement in the early goings, not allowing the Brazilian powerhouse to set his feet whilst also avoiding his lineal strikes. Dillashaw's speed combined with feints, a diverse range of strikes and targets, as well as bits of trickery kept Barao guessing; making it incredibly hard to land counters or defend. When the Brazilian started to tire, Dillashaw poured on the pressure. Using feints and non-committal strikes to draw attacks from his opponent, he countered Barao with lengthier combinations as the fight went on.
His craft and smart tactics were on full display throughout the contest. TJ kicked the legs and body, then looked low again only to send one to the head. He threw straight punches down the middle and then swung head kicks around the side of the guard. He used his feints and movement to force Barao to set his feet, then took advantage by taking angles and initiating exchanges once the champion was at a disadvantage. It was a masterclass.
Dillashaw stepped into the cage as supposed cannon fodder and walked out of it having put on one of the most impressive performances of all time. He then stepped up and rematched Barao (after dispatching an overmatched challenger in late-replacement Joe Soto) this time finishing the former champion a round earlier to prove beyond doubt—as if there was any—that he was the better of the two.
The Lineal Champ
Dillashaw was at an all time high after his pair of wins over Barao, but there was still one more step he needed to take to solidify his reign. Dominick Cruz, the lineal Bantamweight champion, was back.
Cruz’s reigned over the BW division from 2010, before the UFC’s parent company, Zuffa, purchased the WEC and swallowed the smaller organisation. He defended the belt 4 times before being forced to the sidelines with a multitude of injuries including a torn ACL in 2012. He came back briefly in 2014, putting forth a devastating KO of Takeya Mizugaki before being sidelined by injury for another 2 years. Now he was back for good though, and he wanted his belt.
The two greats went back and forth for the full 25 minutes, showcasing their elite striking skills. When all was said and done, it was Cruz that had his hand raised and the belt wrapped around his waist, winning a contentious split decision.
I personally scored it for Dillashaw, giving him the 1st, 4th and 5th rounds. Either way, it was a tremendous, close, fight between two ATG’s that told us a lot about both fighters.
Dillashaw’s over aggressiveness lost him this bout. TJ struggled to find the mark throughout the contest, his long, bounding steps that allow him to cover distance so quickly made it impossible for him to make small adjustments as Cruz moved. Every step he took when blitzing was a massive commitment into that space, facilitating Cruz’s evasive footwork and counters, what’s worse is he never really stopped blitzing until the later rounds. Dillashaw looked to catch Cruz circling towards his power side early, doubling up on right hands from southpaw or as he switched, before punctuating his combinations with sweeping head kicks in an attempt to land as Cruz circled into them. After 3 close rounds that mostly saw Dillashaw being outpointed, he battled back hard in the later rounds, hobbling Cruz with leg kicks in the 4th, and then having his most dominant round in the 5th where a less aggressive approach saw Cruz attack first, making him far less elusive.
Repeat Title Run
After the close split decision loss to Cruz, TJ jumped right back into the shark tank. Eager to prove himself once more, he signed on the dotted line to face Raphael Assuncao; the wily veteran that had bested him 3 years prior. The second fight looked absolutely nothing like the gritty, back and forth that was its predecessor. Instead it was a thoroughly one-sided affair that saw Dillashaw batter the man that was once his superior.
Against Assuncao, Dillashaw sat back and allowed the world-class counter striker to come to him early, only to punish him with his own counters when he did so. Late on he realised that his speed advantage was overwhelming, and he made the smart choice to minimise any danger by simply staying out of range as much as possible. He would hang out on the edge of his range and then dart in, strike, and exit on an angle before Assuncao could respond. Despite being a savage display from Dillashaw, it was one that didn't prioritise offence above all else the way he did vs Cruz. I've spoken a lot about the tactics of Dillashaw, but this was one of the first times we saw him implement a genuinely smart strategy for the fight as a whole.
Looking to make his claim for a title shot undeniable, Dillashaw sought out a bout versus one of the most dangerous & devastating punchers in the weight class. A former FLW, John Lineker had won his past 6 fights (4 at BW), and held wins over the likes of Michael McDonald, Rob Font and John Dodson. His brawling style has led many to underrate him, but make no mistake. ‘Hand Of Stone’ is far more than a tough guy with sledgehammers for fists, as Ed Gallo excellently lays out in this fun body punching tribute.
In yet another exceptional performance, Dillashaw and Ludwig showed how adept they can be at game planning. Dillashaw put in a dominant showing, out grappling Lineker for the majority of the bout whilst landing an abundance of ground and pound. The game-plan was simple, yet well thought out and executed; don’t let him plant his feet and throw, this is John fucking Lineker we’re talking about after all. Much like in the Assuncao rematch, Dillashaw knew he couldn’t hang about in the pocket and trade bombs with Lineker, so… he didn’t.
The major drawback of Linekers game is that after he wades forward, he has to firmly plant his feet before he can let his hands loose with power, and he’s very foot slow. On the feet TJ incorporated lateral movement, never staying still and constantly forcing Lineker to turn before he could throw. Then on the rare occasions Lineker did plant his feet, TJ would simply step in and take him down. He also did a great job of combining the two. Here he is moving away from Lineker, baiting a strike and shooting underneath; utilising the angle created by both the stance switch and lateral movement by turning the corner.
Another Shot At Greatness
After his battering of John Lineker, TJ was granted a salivating opportunity to kill two birds with one stone. The first of those being his former teammate, Cody Garbrandt and the latter being to reclaim his title.
The rivalry began when TJ left T.A.M, and it slowly twisted into a bitter hatred. Sparring footage of Cody knocking TJ down was released, and the two were booked as opposing coaches on a season of TUF in an attempt to stir things up even more. It worked. The two went tit for tat with petty insults, with the worst of it being accusations that TJ was both using EPO (which turned out to be true) and was to blame for the injuries that derailed the career of Chris Holdsworth.
Forget the childish rivalry and war of words though. It was clear that Cody Garbrandt was an extremely talented fighter. He came into the UFC at just 4-0 and tore through the division in a meteoric rise. By virtue of his lightning-quick hands and impressive boxing, Garbrandt quickly went on a 5-fight winning streak in the division, winning all but one by KO before being granted a shot at Dominick Cruz, and absolutely clowning the two-time champion; at times literally dancing his way to a dominant decision win. By following the champion and peppering him with straights—his feet always in position to throw—he exposed the unorthodox footwork that had been the key to Cruz's success.
A deep personal beef, elite skillsets, and two prolific finishers facing off for the title. The UFC couldn’t have asked for much more. When the two finally clashed at UFC 217, the stage was set for one of the biggest 135lb fights in UFC history; and it didn’t disappoint.
The two were both hesitant to lead, but when they collided in the pocket, it was riveting stuff. Whenever they were in range they both let rip ferocious punch combinations. Just as the first round drew to a close, Garbrandt connected flush on the chin with the counter right hand he’d been looking for.
Dillashaw went down. Hard.
Cody rushed in to follow up but the bell sounded before he could finish the job, saving TJ from what seemed to be inevitable doom.
“Just blast the fucking kick”. “Corral him into the corner…he doesn’t like the pressure”. After wobbling back to his corner, Dillashaw was greeted by a blunt, yet calm Duane Ludwig who focused on the positives and told him exactly what he wanted from him. “Yes sir”, TJ replied with a nod.
With the eyes of the MMA world bearing down on him, wondering how hurt he still was and if he could survive the next round, Dillashaw put on a show. Just as his coach ordered, he got to work blasting Garbrandt with kicks early and it paid off as he connected with a lead head-kick that dropped his foe momentarily. After frustrating Garbrandt with his kicks at range, TJ finished him off with a touch of craft. Exploiting Cody’s tendency to always respond with full power, left-right combinations; TJ baited the right hand, then sorted out his feet and range before exiting the pocket as he stepped into a huge lead right hook.
With the heat between the two and the back and forth nature of the fight, a rematch was quickly scheduled for UFC 227.
TJ went out with the perfect gameplan, and finished Cody in the first round to move to a perfect 3-0 in rematches. After getting to work with an array of feints and kicks, he baited the right hand of Garbrandt multiple times, connecting with his own power hand in return. His former teammate had to be saved by the referee as Dillashaw leapt around the cage in triumph yet again.
A Bitter End?
After reclaiming his title, achieving the sweet personal victory that came alongside it, and finally shutting the door on the beef between him & Cody; TJ decided it was time for bigger things.
That meant facing the surging Henry Cejudo in an attempt to add the champions 125lb belt to his mantelpiece. It, uhh… didn't quite go to plan. After being forced towards the cage, the former Olympic medalist (in case you hadn’t heard) clipped TJ with a right hand behind the ear that sent him crashing to the mat and finished it with ground and pound shortly after.
Dillashaw saw his dreams crushed before him. He’d already solidified himself as one of the greatest bantamweights of all time, and defeating Cejudo—in his own weight class no less—would’ve placed Dillashaw firmly amongst the kings of the sport.
His dreams failed to materialise, but something else did; evidence. I’m referring of course to the failed test for EPO that stained Dillashaw’s career, and the evidence to support Cody Garbrandt’s claims of Dillashaw’s drug use. As EPO can only be injected, there was no excuse available to TJ. He couldn’t blame a tainted supplement or some bad kangaroo meat. The whole world knew he was a cheater. What’s worse is that after claiming the positive test was just a “blemish”, USADA tested previous samples, and one from the 28th December 2019 flagged up positive aswell. In a sport clouded by drug issues, it’s hard to say how much TJ’s legacy will be affected by this, but given his high output, it is tough to look back on some of his fights (particularly the Cruz fight) and envision them going the same way without the use of a cardio enhancing drug.
Conclusion
Looking back on his in cage performances and technical ability, Dillashaw’s defence is the clear chink in his armour. With poor reactive defence, he’s not nearly the force he can be if you manage to force him onto the backfoot, but only Henry Cejudo has managed to do that so far, and he possesses an inhuman ability to press forward and absorb strikes. The genius of Dillashaw’s style is the sheer amount of offensive weapons available to him. Some boxers frequently overwhelm their opponents with strikes, throwing varied volume to the head and body combined with feints to make it difficult to anticipate their next move. Dillashaw took this concept and applied it to MMA, where he could target the head, body and legs whilst throwing punches, kicks and also threatening with takedowns. His tools work in tandem together, each weapon playing off the threat of another. When you tried to avoid his straight punches by slipping, parrying or blocking; he’d wrap a head kick around the now exposed side. The duck that often preceded his headkick made you think a takedown was coming and forced you to drop your hands. If you tried to counter his jab he’d step back and counter your strike with one of his own, and if you didn’t he’d use the jab to hide his footwork and set up a combination. On the ground he poured on volume, and then when you reacted to the strikes, he’d pummel with a quickness and land more strikes from a new angle. His offence blends seamlessly, with the threat of one tool setting up another, and at one time or another we’ve seen all of those threats to be menacing propositions. But that’s not all that makes him such a tough out, his partnership with Ludwig has seen the pair blend strategy, tactics and game-planning just about as well as anyone in the sport ever has.
TJ takes on all comers, it doesn't matter who you are. Dillashaw would sign on the dotted line, step into the cage, and come for your fucking head. His record reads as a who's who of the BantamWeight division, with his only recent losses being ATG's in their own right (Cruz notched a spot on our list and Cejudo seems likely to break into the rankings soon).
Honest, frank, and sometimes brutal self-assessment is at the forefront of any improvement; and losses make that much easier. TJ's tremendous offence and signature wins maybe what earn him the #8 spot on our list, but what I set out to show with this article is that it's the losses that made him great.
I really can’t tell you how you should look back on Dillashaw’s legacy to date. What I can tell you, however, is that you should remember him as one of the best offensive forces seen to date in Mixed Martial Arts, and an undeniable all time-great.