TJ Dillashaw’s return to the UFC may turn out to be as controversial as his exit back in 2019. He won a razor-thin split decision over Cory Sandhagen at UFC Vegas 32, which left Sandhagen as well as plenty of commentators scratching their heads. One man who sees precisely how Dillashaw won the bout is former bantamweight champ Henry Cejudo, who is keeping a keen eye on the division he once ruled.
Taking to Twitter to air out his thoughts, Cejudo said: “I’m actually very surprised at TJ. I wasn’t betting on him, I really wasn’t, because I’ve always thought that Sandhagen just did a better job of what TJ tends to do.
Cejudo on why Dillashaw deserved the win against Sandhagen
But what we want to credit in this fight is the wrestling, the mindset, and the hunger.” Cejudo elaborated, discussing Dillashaw’s positional control and dominant positioning throughout the five rounds, despite sustaining significantly more damage than Sandhagen.
“The reason why TJ won the fight — and I do believe he won the fight — even though he got beat up he controlled more of the time, and I don’t think we give credit to that.
The majority of the time he was in a better position, had him against the cage, took him down, didn’t inflict that much damage, but he did enough to steal the rounds towards the end.
You gotta give credit where credit’s due. I didn’t have him winning, I didn’t want him to win, but I guess apparently he had what it takes to beat Cory Sandhagen.”
The five-round bout between Sandhagen, next in line to challenge for the Bantamweight title, and Dillashaw, a returning champ, headlined last Saturday night’s card. The fight was extremely close, and TJ Dillashaw sustained some serious damage over the course of twenty-five minutes, including a gruesome canyon-like laceration above his eye, and brutal damage to his knee.
In fact, Dillashaw sustained a displaced Bucket Handle tear of the Lateral Meniscus and a Lateral Collateral Ligament (LCL) rupture, which will send him to surgery. Dillashaw will likely be out of action for several months, possibly even for the remainder of 2021. Derailing his comeback with severe leg damage was definitely not part of the plan, but whether it seriously compromises his pursuit of the title is another story entirely.
Who do you think won on Saturday night? Was TJ Dillashaw’s positional play enough, or does Sandhagen deserve the win for doing more damage with less dominance? Let us know in the comments.
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