Former UFC champion TJ Dillashaw retires from MMA following recent shoulder surgery

Former UFC bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw has decided to call it a career according to his manager Tiki Ghosn.

Dillashaw (17-5 MMA) most recently competed at October’s UFC 280 event in Abu Dhabi, where he challenged Aljamain Sterling for the promotions 135lbs title. The bout proved to be a one-sided contest, as ‘Killashaw’ had his shoulder pop out early in the opening round and was never able to recover from the injury. ‘Funkmaster‘ was able to take the fight to the floor with relative ease and proceeded to ground and pound Dillashaw to a second-round TKO victory.

Following the disappointing setback, TJ Dillashaw announced that he would be heading for surgery and likely would not be able to compete again until 2024.

“Another year,” Dillashaw said to ESPN about a likely time frame for his return. “Nine months until I can start training rough and tough, and then making sure everything is healed up. I’ve had shoulder surgery before and I’d say another year, maybe, to compete. Either a year to compete, or a year to get back to a training camp.”

While Dillashaw did not hint at any plans of retiring during that interview, rumors started swirling this evening after UFC Roster Watch announced that ‘Killashaw’ had been removed from the promotions active roster.

Shortly after that revelation, Michael Wonsover announced on Twitter that TJ Dillashaw had informed the UFC of his plans for retirement.

“BREAKING: TJ Dillashaw has notified the UFC of his retirement. Dillashaw went 1-1 after serving a 2-year suspension from 2019-2021.”

Veteran journalist Ariel Helwani later confirmed the news:

TJ Dillashaw has decided to retire. The UFC was notified around a week and a half ago.

@The_MDubb first reported the news.

Here’s more, from my car, on what happened: pic.twitter.com/goxUGdgYWw

— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) December 6, 2022

“TJ Dillashaw has decided to retire. The UFC was notified around a week and a half ago.”

Dillashaw ends his mixed martial arts journey with a record of 17-5. The former two-time bantamweight champion scored wins over the likes of Cody Garbrandt (x2), Raphael Assuncao, John Lineker, Renan Barao (x2) and Cory Sandhagen during his storied career.

Are you surprised that TJ Dillashaw has decided to retire from MMA following his recent shoulder surgery? Share your thoughts in the comment section PENN Nation!