TJ Dillashaw: “Words Can’t Even Begin To Express How Disappointed I Am At This Time”
Earlier on Wednesday morning UFC bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw took to social media and revealed that United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) and the New York State Athletic Commission (NYSAC) found an adverse finding in one of his drug tests taken from his last fight, due to of that he’s vacating his title.
“To all my fans, I wanted to be the first one to let you all know that USADA and the NYSAC have informed me of an adverse finding in a test taken in my last fight,” Dillashaw wrote. “While words can’t even begin to express how disappointed I am at this time, please know that I’m working with my team to understand how this occurred and how to resolve the situation as quickly as possible. Out of fairness and respect to the rest of my division, I’ve informed the UFC that I’ll be voluntarily relinquishing my title while I deal with this matter. I want to thank all of you in advance for the support.”
Shortly after ESPN’s Ariel Helwani also reported that Dillashaw has been suspended for one year by the NYSAC.
“TJ Dillashaw has been suspended for a year by the NYSAC, according to sources. A formal announcement is expected to be made this AM. Unclear at this time if he will be suspended longer by USADA but this is a NYSAC and USADA issue. Also unclear what he failed for. Developing. Helwani said int he Tweet.”
TJ Dillashaw has been suspended for a year by the NYSAC, according to sources. A formal announcement is expected to be made this AM. Unclear at this time if he will be suspended longer by USADA but this is a NYSAC and USADA issue. Also unclear what he failed for. Developing.
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) March 20, 2019
The substance Dillashaw popped for wasn’t disclosed yet.
The suspension is retroactive to Jan, 19 that means it’ll end on the same date by 2020. It’s the date Dillashaw suffered a controversial 32-second TKO loss over Henry Cejudo in an event when promotion made a debut with ESPN+.
Stay tuned for more information; the story is still developing.
