T.J. Dillashaw suspended 2 years by USADA following positive drug test

April 9, 2019

Former bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw will have to wait until 2021 to resume his career after he was suspended for two years by USADA on Tuesday.

USADA (United States Anti-Doping Agency) announced the news while revealing that Dillashaw tested positive for EPO, which is typically used in blood doping to help athletes for better endurance and conditioning.

“Dillashaw, 33, tested positive for recombinant human erythropoietin (rHuEPO) as the result of an in-competition urine sample he provided on January 18, 2019. rHuEPO is a synthetic hormone used to stimulate the body’s production of red blood cells, thereby increasing oxygen transport and aerobic power, and is a prohibited substance,” USADA officials said in a statement.

Dillashaw did not contest the suspension and he will not be eligible to return until after Jan. 18, 2021.

Prior to this suspension being handed down, Dillashaw had already faced a one-year sanction from the New York State Athletic Commission because his last fight took place in Brooklyn under their jurisdiction. Dillashaw was also fined $10,000 for the positive drug test.

Dillashaw got in front of that news by announcing his doping violation over Instagram and then relinquishing his bantamweight title.

Now Dillashaw will be forced to sit out for the next two years as a result of the positive drug test with a new bantamweight champion being crowned at UFC 238 when flyweight king Henry Cejudo faces Marlon Moraes in the main event.

Cejudo knocked out Dillashaw in just 32 seconds at that fight in January, which helped him secure the shot at the vacated championship.

Following a pair of knockout wins over Cody Garbrandt, Dillashaw was considered arguably the best bantamweight fighter of all time. Now following this suspension for a doping violation, Dillashaw’s accomplishments will undoubtedly come under scrutiny.