T.J. Dillashaw set for UFC return vs. Cory Sandhagen in May 8 headliner

T.J. Dillashaw is set to make his return to UFC competition after nearly 28 months away from the cage.

A former bantamweight champion, Dillashaw (16-4 MMA, 12-4 UFC) will headline UFC Fight Night on May 8 against surging 135-pound contender Cory Sandhagen. The event does not currently have a publicly announced location or venue.

Two people with knowledge of the matchup confirmed the booking to MMA Junkie on Thursday but asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement. ESPN was the first to report the news.

Dillashaw, 35, recently completed a two-year U.S. Anti-Doping Agency suspension stemming from a positive drug test for EPO in January 2019 – the testing timeframe of his first-round TKO loss in a flyweight title challenge against then-champion Henry Cejudo.

The fight in which Dillashaw tested was his first attempt at flyweight competition, and it came on the heels of a four-fight winning streak that included back-to-back TKO wins over rival Cody Garbrandt.

As for Sandhagen (14-2 MMA, 7-1 UFC), he’s been unblemished in his UFC tenure minus an 88-second loss to Aljamain Sterling last June. Since that defeat, Sandhagen has won back-to-back fights by knockout. In October, Sandhagen defeated Marlon Moraes by spinning wheel kick and punches before he earned a potential 2021 “Knockout of the Year” candidate with a brutal flying knee knockout of Frankie Edgar in February.

With the addition, the UFC’s May 8 lineup now includes:

• T.J. Dillashaw vs. Cory Sandhagen
• Donald Cerrone vs. Diego Sanchez
• Zarrukh Adashev vs. Ryan Benoit
• Julianna Pena vs. TBA
• Maurice Greene vs. Marcos Rogerio de Lima
• Christian Aguilera vs. Carlston Harris
• Francisco Figueredo vs. Jimmy Flick
• Roxanne Modafferi vs. Taila Santos
• Tafon Nchukwi vs. Jun Yong Park
• Damir Hadzovic vs. Nikolas Motta
• Philipe Lins vs. Ben Rothwell