Massive fight to make in the Bantamweight division as TJ Dillashaw will be facing Cory Sandhagen for his return fight. Dillashaw was the former Bantamweight Champion but was stripped from his title due to testing positive for EPO.
TJ Dillashaw is back … Dillashaw (@TJDillashaw) vs. the surging Cory Sandhagen (@cors_life) has been agreed to for the date of May 8. Five-round main event, per sources. pic.twitter.com/8YOesqZUtl
— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) March 19, 2021
Cory Sandhagen is without a doubt, the best contender he could face since he is clearly has the best win streak out of all the top 5 without considering Petr Yan or Aljamain Sterling. The fight will certainly be a big fight since the winner will likely get an immediate title shot.
It is also great that the UFC decided to make it a 5 round main-event to prepare the fighter for a title fight setting. Fans are also curious on how strong will Dillashaw come back and to answer the question “how long was he using PEDs”.
It will also be Sandhagen’s second five round fight. He already headlined when he fought Marlon Moraes but it ended in the second round. TJ Dillashaw could test Sandhagen’s conditioning by bring him under deep waters.
For some fans who don’t know, Dillashaw and Sandhagen go way back. They are friends who sparred during their rise and Dillashaw even said that Sandhagen got the best of him. What made it impressive was it was when Dillashaw was still the champion.
But practice and an official fight is totally different. One cannot say just because he got the better in sparring, he will then win the fight. One example was Cody Garbrandt vs TJ Dillashaw. A video leaked during the build-up where it was shown Cody knocking down TJ.
Dillashaw will also have ring rust due to his inactivity, meanwhile Sandhagen has just fought recently beating Frankie Edgar and Marlon Moraes. In terms of experience, Dillashaw has the edge since he was a two time champion.
