Suffering Devastating Shoulder Injury at UFC 280, TJ Dillashaw Gives Health Update After Surgery

TJ Dillashaw has fought only two fights in the last few years owing to his injuries and suspension from USADA. However, the fighter has always shown signs of his return to the Octagon. Recently, he underwent surgery for his shoulder that got really messed up during his last bout in UFC 280, against Aljamain Sterling.

The fighter shared a picture on his Instagram, saying that his surgery went well. However, fans would have to wait for about a year to see him get back into action.

TJ Dillashaw: Updates about his shoulder surgery

In the recent events of the UFC 280 bantamweight title fight, Tyler Jeffrey Dillashaw severely injured his left shoulder and lost the fight by TKO. He shared a post on Instagram, saying that his surgery went well. He captioned, “Surgery went well this morning, now back on the road to recovery. You can find me in bed playing with my w**ner and PlayStation.”

Furthermore, he promised to share everything in detail after his post-op. Finally, he thanked everyone for their support. 

In his last bantamweight battle against Aljamain Sterling, TJ Dillashaw was severely limited by his shoulder. Thus, the bout was disappointing for fans. Although the ailing shoulder and the recovery would probably keep him out of action, his intent to fight in the UFC again was clear.

When will TJ Dillashaw return to the UFC?

In an interview with ‘ESPN‘, the bantamweight fighter revealed that he would require about nine months to begin training. “Nine months until I can start training rough and tough, and then making sure everything is healed up”, he believed. 

Read More: TJ Dillashaw To Undergo Surgery Following His Comeback Win Over Cory Sandhagen

Furthermore, he talked about the timeline of his recovery. He said, “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.”

Surprisingly, Cub Swanson revealed that Dillashaw couldn’t even lift his arm properly, way before the fight. During the event, Lieutenant Dan’s corner even had to pop his shoulders back into place, and he landed back into the fight. 

Lieutenant Dan’s previous injury

Dillashaw had surgeries to fix his torn labrum and biceps in 2019. However, the surgery was done while the fighter was serving a 2-year suspension by USADA. He returned to the Octagon in 2021, against Cory Sandhagen. Although he won by split decision, Dillashaw tore ligaments in his knee and had to undergo surgery to repair it. 

The former bantamweight champion was out of the arena for about 15 months. Following this, he returned to fight Sterling in a title shot. However, he received a lot of damage and severely compromised his left shoulder. 

During the post-show press conference, the UFC president, Dana White, voiced his disappointment and felt the fighter should have revealed his injury.

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Doubtlessly, Dillashaw won over the hearts of the fans, even after losing the title shot. The fighter chose to stay in the fight despite his injury. What are your thoughts on Dillashaw’s fights? Let us know in the comments below.