TJ Dillashaw Undergoes Surgery on Shoulder Injury, Plans to Fight in UFC Again

After being severely limited by a shoulder injury during his bantamweight title fight against Aljamain Sterling at UFC 280, TJ Dillashaw will have surgery to correct the issue.

Speaking to ESPN's Brett Okamoto, Dillashaw said he is going to undergo a procedure on his ailing left shoulder that will likely keep him out of action for one year, but he intends to fight in UFC again.

"Nine months until I can start training rough and tough, and then making sure everything is healed up," Dillashaw explained about his recovery and training timeline. "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."

Shoulder issues have plagued Dillashaw for a number of years. He had surgeries to repair a torn labrum, biceps and additional work on his biceps tendon in April 2019.

The timing of those surgeries came when Dillashaw was serving a two-year suspension handed down from the United States Anti-Doping Agency after testing positive for recombinant human erythropoietin.

Dillashaw relinquished the UFC bantamweight championship in March 2019 after being informed of an "adverse finding" from USADA in a drug test. He returned to the octagon in July 2021 when he defeated Cory Sandhagen by split decision in the main event of a UFC on ESPN show.

Soon after the fight, Dillashaw revealed he tore three ligaments in his knee and had surgery to repair the damage. The 36-year-old was out of action for 15 months before getting his title shot against Sterling.

Current UFC fighter Cub Swanson tweeted after UFC 280 that Dillashaw couldn't lift his arm during training for the bout because his shoulder was so badly injured. There was footage during the main event that showed Dillashaw's corner appearing to pop his shoulder back into place between the first and second rounds.

UFC president Dana White told reporters during the post-show press conference he "had no idea" Dillashaw's shoulder was messed up. White went on to criticize Dillashaw for not telling the promotion about his injury.

"You gotta tell us," White said. "I mean, he looked good, he was in great shape. It’s not like he came in out of shape, he looked like he was injured, or whatever. But yeah, that’s something that he should have told us."

Dillashaw will turn 37 in February. He has only fought three times since 2019 due to injuries and his suspension. The California native has a 17-5 career record in mixed martial arts and is a two-time UFC bantamweight champion.