Brendan Schaub believes T.J. Dillashaw’s drug test history is overblown heading into UFC 280: “The guys that he was fighting were also on some s**t”

By Josh Evanoff - October 18, 2022

Brendan Schaub believes fans shouldn’t hold T.J. Dillashaw’s PED history against him.

The former bantamweight champion has been out of action since his win over Cory Sandhagen last July. That victory was an important one for Dillashaw, as he hadn’t won a fight since 2018. The reasoning was that he was on the sidelines due to a drug test failure.

Following a knockout loss to Henry Cejudo in January 2019, the then-bantamweight champion tested positive for EPO. Due to the positive test, he was stripped of his title, and also suspended for two years.

Upon his return, T.J. Dillashaw has been bashed by many, including his UFC 280 opponent Aljamain Sterling. ‘Funk Master’ and his coach Ray Longo have ripped into the former champion for his history of using banned substances.

Fighter-turned-podcaster Brendan Schaub believes that treatment is a bit over the top. On The Schaub Show, the former UFC heavyweight previewed the bantamweight title fight. There, he gave his thoughts on the reaction to Dillashaw’s return.

Simply put, the podcaster believes that talk of the bantamweight’s drug test history is overblown. Schaub also opined that many of Dillashaw’s former opponents were likely cheating as well.

TJ Dillashaw

Image: TJ Dillashaw on Instagram

“If you’re going to hate on T.J. for that, did he not pay the price in the middle of his prime? Do we not forgive people? Is there no redemption story? … Here’s the other thing why you should root for T.J. Dillashaw: [He] served his time, two years off, no income, life, kids, another baby… comes back and fights Cory Sandhagen.” (h/t Sportskeeda)

“If he learned from his mistakes, came back, and now he’s fighting for a title shot… you’re telling me the UFC cannot use this as a narrative to show a guy that made awful mistakes? PEDs is very prevalent in this business. I know you guys want to make T.J. Dillashaw the poster boy but the guys that he was fighting were also on some s**t, too. It’s just the nature of the business.”
For his part, T.J. Dillashaw has repeatedly hit back at accusations that he’s cheating heading into Saturday. However, team Sterling isn’t as convinced.
What do you think about Brendan Schaub’s comments? Sound off in the comment section below!

This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM


Topics:

Brendan Schaub TJ Dillashaw UFC UFC 280