Cub Swanson: T.J. Dillashaw ‘couldn’t even lift his own arm’ in training camp for UFC 280

Over the weekend at UFC 280, T.J. Dillashaw lost via second-round TKO to Aljamain Sterling at the co-main event. As he revealed during his…

By: Milan Ordoñez | 8 months ago
Cub Swanson: T.J. Dillashaw ‘couldn’t even lift his own arm’ in training camp for UFC 280
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Over the weekend at UFC 280, T.J. Dillashaw lost via second-round TKO to Aljamain Sterling at the co-main event. As he revealed during his post-fight interview, he dislocated his shoulder “a good 20 times” during training camp, and it remained problematic up until the fight itself.

“I told the ref in the back before we came out that most likely, the shoulder’s gonna pop out. If it does, I’ll get it back in, please do not stop it. Unfortunately, in the second round, I couldn’t push off my shoulder,” he told Daniel Cormier.

“This was a tough one to come into. Again, I apologize to the weight class ‘cause it’s a stacked weight class. I took up a position but I wasn’t gonna wait another year to get a shot.”

That revelation, of course, didn’t sit well with a good chunk of fans who see it as a “built-in excuse.”

UFC veteran Cub Swanson, who apparently worked with Dillashaw for the Sterling title fight, came to the former champ’s aid on Twitter.

That then opened up the discussion from fans who felt slighted by the fact that Dillashaw took the fight with the knowledge that he won’t be able to perform to the best of his abilities, and those who lost some money betting on him.

For that, Swanson and UFC lightweight Terrance McKinney had a response.

For what it’s worth, there’s been countless fighters — Dillashaw included — that have pulled out of fights for various injuries in the past, and by their own accounts, this is serious enough to have been one of them.

Dillashaw’s record dropped to 17-5 after his loss to Sterling.

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Milan Ordoñez
Milan Ordoñez

Milan Ordoñez has been covering combat sports since 2012 and has been part of the Bloody Elbow staff since 2016. He’s also competed in amateur mixed martial arts and submission grappling tournaments.

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