T.J. Dillashaw Breaks Silence, Apologizes To The Fans

Former UFC bantamweight champion T.J. Dillashaw is a man that is facing the ire of the MMA world. Dillashaw relinquished the bantamweight title last month after it was revealed that he tested positive for a banned substance. Over the past few days, more details emerged, with USADA revealing that the former champion popped for EPO, and was subsequently suspended for two years by the anti-doping agency – his first offence in the USADA era.

However, Dillashaw, who had earlier released a statement, has maintained a low profile. With the world wondering just what had happened, Dillashaw has finally broken his silence, and in an admission of guilt, apologized to everyone for straying away from the right path.

Dillashaw posted a video on Instagram, leaving a heartfelt message to his fans.

“I’ve had people tell me I should just disappear and let this stuff die out, let this thing die out for the next two years and just disappear”, Dillashaw said (transcript via MMAJunkie). “But I don’t think that’s the way to handle this thing. I’m showing my son we made a mistake – face it to its face.

“Trust me – I’d love to run away and go hide in a cave the next two years and continue to grow out this (expletive) beard, but it’s been weighing on me, and it should. This is who I am. I’m a fighter. I’ve got to fight my way through this one.”

“I messed up”, he said. “I’m having a hard time trying to forgive myself for this – which I should have a hard time. I understand the criticism and the scrutiny coming my way. But what I really feel bad about is the bad light I’m bringing on my coaches, my family, my teammates. They had no involvement in this and I feel the worst for them. I’ve got a 15-month-old son and I want to be a role model for him.

“… I’ve got to man up to what I did. I accepted all penalties – I didn’t try to fight this thing. I’m going to sit for the next two years.”

Here’s T.J. Dillashaw’s statement in full (thanks to MMAJunkie).


I messed up. I’m having a hard time trying to forgive myself for this – which I should have a hard time. I understand the criticism and the scrutiny coming my way. But what I really feel bad about is the bad light I’m bringing on my coaches, my family, my teammates. They had no involvement in this and I feel the worst for them. I’ve got a 15-month-old son and I want to be a role model for him.
… I’ve got to man up to what I did. I accepted all penalties – I didn’t try to fight this thing. I’m going to sit for the next two years.
Jan. 18, 2021, is when I’m allowed to come back. I had shoulder surgery (Thursday) on my right shoulder. Two months later, I’m getting my left one done. I’ve had torn rotator cuffs and labrums for the last two and a half years I’ve been dealing with – it’ll be nice to get those healed up before I come back.
I’ve had people tell me I should just disappear and let this stuff die out, let this thing die out for the next two years and just disappear. But I don’t think that’s the way to handle this thing. I’m showing my son we made a mistake – face it to its face. Trust me – I’d love to run away and go hide in a cave the next two years and continue to grow out this (expletive) beard, but it’s been weighing on me, and it should. This is who I am. I’m a fighter. I’ve got to fight my way through this one.
I want to apolgize to my fans, anyone I’ve let downm – obviously my family, my coaches and my teammates. I can’t say sorry enough for the stuff you’re dealing with because of me. But this won’t be the end of me. I’ll be back and I’m making you a promise now that I’ll be back better, I’ll be back stronger, and I’ll prove the hard work I’ve done is what got me where I’m at and not the bad decision that I made. That’s all I can do. All I can do to redeem myself is work hard. I’ll be better. I want to be better and I will.

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