TJ Dillashaw faced some elite opposition during his career but one of them sticks out in his mind.
The UFC has been home to some incredible bantamweight fighters over the years and while he certainly had some setbacks, Dillashaw is among them.
Dillashaw first skyrocketed with his upset win over Renan Barao to dethrone the dominant champion at UFC 173 in a historic matchup.
Having competed ten more times inside the Octagon after winning the belt, he clashed with the likes of his greatest rival, Cody Garbrandt, and the man that many consider to be the best 135-pounder of all time, Dominick Cruz.
However, these remarkable fighters aren’t the ones that the 39-year-old believes was his toughest.
TJ Dillashaw names Cory Sandhagen as his toughest opponent following split decision war on his UFC return
Having fought legends of the sport like Renan Barao, Dominick Cruz and Henry Cejudo, TJ Dillashaw has an impressive list of former opponents to choose from when naming his toughest foe.
The two-time UFC bantamweight champion recently revealed his surprising answer during an appearance on the Overdogs Podcast when he was asked about the seemingly upcoming title fight between Merab Dvalishvili and Cory Sandhagen.
“I would love if Sandhagen could get it done. That guy’s a ninja. His striking is insane. I’ve trained with him now ever since 2015 when I moved out to Colorado, before anyone knew who he was.”
Dillashaw reflected on his early impressions of training alongside Sandhagen, having been seriously impressed by his skill level for a fighter that was so young in their career.
“I started training with him at Team Elevation and I was like, ‘Man, who the f— is this cat? He’s good.’ He’s like, ‘Oh, he’s some guy that’s got a few amateur fights,’ and I was like, ‘What?! This m———– needs to be in the UFC, he’s amazing.'”
The former training partners went head-to-head in July of 2021 where Dillashaw overcame some serious adversity to win a narrow split decision on his return to action after two and a half years away.
“I fought him, it was my toughest fight to date. The guy’s amazing. I’d love to see him get the win because he’s a great human being. His skills are insane, I think he’d be a great champion.”
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TJ Dillashaw doesn’t think that Cory Sandhagen will beat Merab Dvalishvili
Despite singing the praises of Cory Sandhagen, TJ Dillashaw also thinks very highly of Merab Dvalishvili.
‘The Sandman’ has been considered to be one of the best bantamweights in the world for some time but halting the incredible win streak of ‘The Machine’ is a huge task.
Dillashaw said during the podcast appearance that while he would love to see Sandhagen become a champion for the first time when the matchup eventually happens, he is backing the champion to come out on top due to the style clash.
“I do think unfortunately that Merab has the exact skills that are his kryptonite in just his pace and his wrestling. Not even so much like his trickery jiu-jitsu. It’s more so just the f—— pace of wrestling. Like, that s— sucks, it’s tiring.”