Dana White praises TJ Dillashaw for owning up to his past PED use: “He handled it like a man”

UFC president Dana White has praised TJ Dillashaw for the way in which he handled being suspended due to his EPO use.

In the wake of his loss to Henry Cejudo back in January 2019, TJ Dillashaw was handed a two-year suspension from mixed martial arts by USADA due to a positive drug test that indicated he had been using EPO.

Dillashaw was quick to validate the claims and voluntarily relinquished his UFC bantamweight championship, with some wondering whether he’d ever fight again.

However, once his two years were up, he did manage to make a successful return by defeating Cory Sandhagen to set himself up for another crack at the 135-pound belt.

Dana White, who obviously saw all of this go down, had the following to say on the matter during a recent interview.

“First of all, the guy is probably, and I don’t know this for a fact, but I would assume he’s one of the most tested guys in the company right now,” White said.

“USADA is probably all over him. But I think he made a mistake, and he handled it like a man. I’ll tell you what: We’ve had a lot of guys in the history of this company who have been busted for steroids and handled it the exact opposite way. They handled it not like men. Dillashaw did. He took it on the chin. You’ve got to respect him for that.”

Quotes via MMA Junkie

Dillashaw returns

The reason he was asked about the subject is because this weekend, Dillashaw will attempt to become a three-time UFC champ when he goes head to head with Aljamain Sterling at UFC 280.

Do you agree with Dana White’s remarks regarding TJ Dillashaw or are you still not a big fan of how he reacted? Let us know in the comments, BJPENN Nation!