T.J. Dillashaw keen on reclaiming the Bantamweight Championship as his suspension term draws to a close
T.J. Dillashaw has been out of action since early 2019, where he headlined the first major Fight Night Card in a "Champion vs Champion" fight. At the time, T.J. Dillashaw was the active UFC Bantamweight Champion with a title defense against Cody Garbrandt.
However, his attempt at the Flyweight Championship ended in less than a minute as then-Champion Henry Cejudo took no time to finish him. A couple of months after that fight, T.J. Dillashaw announced that he had been suspended for two years by USADA and would be relinquishing the UFC Flyweight Championship.
His suspension for EPO will be served by January 19th, 2021 and as the date approaches closer, T.J. Dillashaw will be looking to jump right back into the mix.
T.J. Dillashaw put a brief post on Instagram vowing to return and reclaim the Bantamweight Championship that he didn't lose:
Will T.J. Dillashaw get right back into the title hunt upon his return?
The big question is whether the UFC will allow T.J. Dillashaw to compete for the title immediately after serving a suspension for a failed drug test. It wouldn't be a good look for the sport or organization, but the UFC has enough experience dealing with Jon Jones and various sketchy situations regarding failed drug tests.
T.J. Dillashaw will be re-entering at a time when the Bantamweight division is at the best it has ever been. With the quality oozing out of the top 5, it's going to be interesting to see if he can hold up with the best of the 135-pound fighters.
It's easy to believe that T.J. Dillashaw would crack the top 5 rankings again, but there's no guarantee that he will win the title again. Either way, the next UFC Bantamweight title fight is expected to be Petr Yan vs Aljamain Sterling.