5 Defining Moments: T.J. Dillashaw

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T.J. Dillashaw once again seeks to reclaim the throne in which he has twice ruled.

The Duane Ludwig protégé will challenge Aljamain Sterling for the undisputed Ultimate Fighting Championship bantamweight crown in the UFC 280 co-main event on Saturday at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Dillashaw, 36, held the 135-pound title from May 24, 2014 to Jan. 17, 2016 and again from Nov. 4, 2017 to March 20, 2019. He has rattled off five wins across his past six appearances and last competed at UFC on ESPN 27, where he eked out a contentious split verdict over Cory Sandhagen in their July 2021 encounter.

As Dillashaw approaches his high-stakes confrontation with Sterling, a look at five of the many moments that have come to define him:

1. Magic Killer

John Dodson’s experience, speed and power proved to steep a mountain to climb, as he put away Dillashaw with first-round punches in their bantamweight final at “The Ultimate Fighter 14” Finale on Dec. 3, 2011 at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas. The end came 1:54 into Round 1. Dodson set the table for the finish with a ringing straight left, picked his shots with surgical patience and precision and then floored the previously unbeaten Dillashaw with a counter left hand behind the ear. He followed with a pair of quick left hooks and a few hammerfists that prompted the stoppage. Dillashaw rose on wobbly legs and was assisted to his corner, having tasted defeat for the first time.

2. Validation

Dillashaw took care of Renan Barao with punches and retained the undisputed bantamweight championship in the fourth round of their UFC on Fox 16 headliner on July 25, 2015 at the United Center in Chicago. Barao withered against the cage 35 seconds into round four. Fourteen months after he dethroned the Brazilian, Dillashaw was again the better man. The Team Alpha Male standout ran circles around Barao with his footwork and movement, blasted him with nifty combinations and generally steered clear of danger. The challenger’s movements became more and more labored as the fight dragged on, and Dillashaw showed him no mercy. He staggered Barao with a clean left hook early in the fourth round and uncorked a hellacious volley of lefts and rights that gave referee Herb Dean no choice but to step in to save the Nova Uniao rep from further punishment.

3. Begrudging Deference

The oft-injured Dominick Cruz reclaimed the bantamweight title he never lost with a split decision over Dillashaw in the UFC Fight Night 81 main event on Jan. 17, 2016 at the TD Garden in Boston. Judges David Ginsberg and Tony Weeks struck 48-47 and 49-46 scorecards for Cruz, while Sal D’Amato saw it 49-46 for Dillashaw. Together, the two men produced a 25-minute display of marvelous technique and fortitude. Cruz shook off the rust from another extended injury-induced layoff—he had fought just once in the previous 1,569 days—and got down to business with clinical counterpunches and elusive movement. Dillashaw was left to throw single shots and whiffed often during many of the early exchanges, as the Alliance MMA cornerstone bobbed, weaved and circled out of danger. Cruz supplemented his work on the feet with takedowns in the second, third and fourth rounds, as he managed to ground a fighter who had never before been taken down in UFC competition. Despite the difficulties Cruz presented for him, Dillashaw kept applying the pressure. He shifted the momentum in his favor in the fourth round, where he connected with a crippling leg kick, delivered a takedown of his own and punished Cruz in the clinch. Dillashaw picked up where he left off in the fifth, as he followed a clean right hand upstairs with a partially blocked head kick. With Cruz compromised by an apparent foot injury, Dillashaw stayed busy down the stretch but failed to do enough to carry the scorecards.

4. One-Sided Rivalry

Dillashaw retained the undisputed Ultimate Fighting Championship bantamweight title and improved to 2-0 against his archrival when he dispatched former Team Alpha Male stablemate Cody Garbrandt with a knee strike and follow-up punches in the first round of their UFC 227 headliner on Aug. 4, 2018 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Garbrandt succumbed to blows 4:10 into Round 1. Staying technical despite the heated emotions involved, Dillashaw countered his kick-heavy challenger at every turn. He floored Garbrandt with a clean right hook, swarmed for a potential stoppage and then reset. Another Dillashaw right—it landed more like a clothesline than a punch—had “No Love” teetering on the brink. The champion followed up with punches, allowed Garbrandt to stand and uncorked a knee strike that resulted in the finish.

5. History Denied

Henry Cejudo retained his undisputed flyweight crown in a statement-making performance when he dismissed Dillashaw with punches in the first round of their UFC Fight Night 143 headliner on Jan. 19, 2019 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. Dillashaw, the promotion’s reigning bantamweight champion, bowed out just 32 seconds into Round 1 and failed in his bid to become a simultaneous two-division titleholder. It was a result no one saw coming. Cejudo fired out of the gates, pairing leg kicks with rapid-fire punches upstairs. He pushed an off-balance Dillashaw backward, stunned him with a partially blocked head kick and dropped him to all fours with a well-placed right hand behind the ear. Cejudo followed up with a ferocity he had rarely shown, even as his dazed counterpart reached for a single-leg out of pure desperation. Dillashaw was met with unanswered rights and lefts to the head, leading referee Kevin MacDonald to call for the stoppage despite the Californian’s protests. Dillashaw later relinquished the bantamweight championship after it was revealed he failed a United States Anti-Doping Agency drug test. A two-year suspension was subsequently handed down.