3 reasons why T.J. Dillashaw can regain the UFC bantamweight title and 2 reasons why he can't
This weekend sees former UFC bantamweight champ T.J. Dillashaw return to the octagon for the first time in well over two years as he takes on Cory Sandhagen. The fight will be T.J. Dillashaw's biggest challenge in some time.
If T.J. Dillashaw beats Cory Sandhagen, he could position himself for a UFC bantamweight title shot – but can the former kingpin really regain his title?
It’s a question that can easily be argued either way, based on the plenty of issues surrounding T.J. Dillashaw’s comeback this weekend.
So with this considered, here are three reasons why T.J. Dillashaw can regain his UFC bantamweight title and two reasons why he can’t.
#3. T.J. Dillashaw has already regained the UFC bantamweight title once before
The main thing that usually stands against a former UFC champion regaining their title is the fact that they lost it in the first place. When a champion falls inside the octagon, it often leaves an indelible mark both psychologically and physically.
Over the course of UFC history, few fighters have ever been able to regain a UFC title after losing it inside the octagon – with only greats like Randy Couture and Georges St-Pierre pulling it off.
In the UFC’s bantamweight division, two fighters have managed to do this – Dominick Cruz and T.J. Dillashaw, who lost his title to Cruz before taking it back from the man who beat ‘The Dominator,' Cody Garbrandt.
The fact that T.J. Dillashaw was able to achieve this means, unlike many former champions, he knows exactly what it’s like to climb back to the top after being knocked off the summit of the mountain.
It's also worth remembering that in his most recent title run, T.J. Dillashaw never actually lost his crown inside the octagon.
The last image that UFC fans have of T.J. Dillashaw would indeed be of him protesting the stoppage in his fight with Henry Cejudo – a clash that saw him knocked out in under a minute by a wild flurry of strikes. But that fight was not for Dillashaw's UFC bantamweight title.
Instead, Dillashaw lost his title after a positive test for EPO saw him suspended for two years. Is being stripped of a title any better than losing it? On the face of it, no, but from a psychological standpoint, Dillashaw was never beaten – and probably still views himself as the champion.
Essentially, T.J. Dillashaw has already proven that he's mentally strong enough to regain a UFC title after losing it – meaning there's nothing to suggest he won't do it again.