Dana White says UFC working on No. 1 contender fight for TJ Dillashaw

UFC president Dana White said the promotion is working on a No. 1 contender fight for TJ Dillashaw in his upcoming return to the Octagon.

Dillashaw recently completed his two-year USADA suspension and is now eligible to return to the UFC and fight once again. He has hinted at wanting a title shot against the winner of UFC 259’s Petr Yan vs. Aljamain Sterling title fight, and Yan has said he, too, wants to fight Dillashaw if he beats Sterling, but so far we haven’t had any word on the UFC’s plan.

With Saturday’s title fight coming up, a common question that fans will want to know is if Dillashaw is getting the next title shot. According to UFC president Dana White, that isn’t the UFC’s plan. Speaking to ESPN’s Brett Okamoto, White said that Dillashaw won’t face the winner of Yan vs. Sterling, but confirmed they have plans for a No. 1 contender bout.

“We’re working on something for TJ (Dillashaw) right now, where the winner of that fight would fight (the winner of Yan vs. Sterling) for the title next,” White said.

Though White didn’t drop any names, it seems reasonable to conclude that the UFC is looking at booking Dillashaw against Cory Sandhagen, who is coming off of back-to-back knockout wins over Frankie Edgar and Marlon Moraes. Sandhagen has said he wants to fight the winner of Yan vs. Sterling as well, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see the UFC want him to take one more fight. Given that Sterling took no damage against Edgar, it seems possible the UFC could have him fight Dillashaw later this spring. Speculatively speaking, a five-round UFC Fight Night main event between these two seems like fun. Alternatively, another top bantamweight out there for Dillashaw to fight is Rob Font.

Do you think TJ Dillashaw vs. Cory Sandhagen is the fight to make?