MMA doctor speculates potential "irreparable" reason behind T.J. Dillashaw's severe, career-ending shoulder injury
T.J. Dillashaw recently opened up about his ongoing shoulder injury and confirmed that his MMA career was effectively over. He revealed that despite having no pain, he's unable to lift his arm above his neckline due to multiple injuries and surgeries on his left shoulder over the course of his career.
Dillashaw notably suffered a shoulder dislocation during his fight against Aljamain Sterling at UFC 280 in October 2022. While he underwent multiple surgeries, his left shoulder was never the same.
During an episode of The Casuals MMA podcast, Dillashaw outlined his ongoing ordeal in detail and demonstrated the lack of movement in his left arm. Reacting to a clip from his podcast segment, famed MMA surgeon Dr. David Abbasi shared his thoughts on Dillashaw's statements.
Breaking down why Dillashaw might have to hang up his gloves for good, Dr. Abbasi said:
"T.J. Dillashaw was recently on a podcast where he showed that his shoulder no longer functioned correctly. Here's the biggest takeaway on why this clearly would potentially be a career-ending injury. A couple of things we look for when an athlete is returning to high-level sports."
He continued:
"We want a painless joint, he didn't really complain about the pain. No.2, we would want a full range of motion of the joint; he clearly does not have a full range of motion in his shoulder. No.3, we would want full strength of the joint here, he can't even lift his arm over his head... The most concerning of these probably would be the loss of the range of motion and strength... My differential here would be a large rotator cuff tear that's no longer repairable."
Former UFC champion T.J. Dillashaw names the opponent he was most nervous to face
On the same podcast, T.J. Dillashaw also named one opponent he was nervous to fight in the cage. While the former UFC bantamweight champion has faced veterans like Dominick Cruz and Cody Garbrandt, he surprisingly named Joe Soto as someone who put his nerves to the test.
Speaking on The Casuals MMA podcast, Dillashaw opened up about having to fight Soto on short notice and said:
"[Soto] was coming to Team Alpha Male six weeks before the fight and training with us and I knew how good he was. He was the Bellator champion that just came to the UFC...They want me to take this fight on a 24-hour notice...I'm putting everything on the line to fight someone that no one knows, and I did it. And that was the most nervous I've ever been for an entire fight.
Watch T.J. Dillashaw's comments below (15:00):