TJ Dillashaw forced to withdraw from May 8 fight vs Cory Sandhagen
The return of former UFC bantamweight TJ Dillashaw will have to wait a bit longer due to a recent injury. As first reported by Mike Bohn of MMA Junkie, Dillashaw has been forced to withdraw from his upcoming fight against Cory Sandhagen on May 8 due to a laceration on his eyebrow. The former champion was hoping to get doctor’s clearance to keep the fight on schedule but on Tuesday he announced he was forced to pull out of the fight.
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The matchup of Dillashaw and Sandhagen is believed to be a high-stakes fight in the bantamweight division, with the winner possibly being next in line for a title shot, after the rematch between Aljamain Sterling and former champion Petr Yan takes place later this year. It was supposed to be Dillashaw’s first fight back since he served a two-year suspension for a failed drug test back in 2019.
As noted in TJ Dillashaw’s post, he is hoping that the fight between him and Sandhagen will be rescheduled as soon as possible, keeping the wheels moving on the top contenders in the bantamweight division. The last time Dillashaw competed inside the Octagon, he came up short in his attempt to become a two-weight champion as he was knocked out by former flyweight champion Henry Cejudo.
Cory Sandhagen has bounced back nicely since suffering his first loss in the UFC to Sterling back at UFC 250 in June of last year. Since the loss to Sterling, Sandhagen has picked up back-to-back knockout victories over Marlon Moraes and Frankie Edgar, as he’s cemented himself atop the list of contenders in the division.
With TJ Dillashaw forced to withdraw from the fight, next weekend’s UFC on ESPN 24 event will need a new main event. ESPN’s Ariel Helwani reported on Wednesday that the women’s strawweight fight between Michelle Waterson and Marina Rodriguez could be the new main event, although nothing has been confirmed by the UFC at this time.
