T.J. Dillashaw has responded to Dominick Cruz’s recent remarks regarding his title shot.
In an interview on “The MMA Hour,” two-time UFC bantamweight champion Cruz claimed Dillashaw (17-4 MMA, 13-4 UFC) getting the next shot at reigning champion Aljamain Sterling was a “hook-up” from the UFC.
Cruz pointed to Dillashaw’s failed drug test for recombinant human erythropoietin (rHuEPO) in 2019, which resulted in a two-year suspension from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency and him voluntarily relinquishing his bantamweight title. After serving his suspension, Dillashaw defeated Cory Sandhagen and is projected to be next in line for Sterling, which Cruz understands, but doesn’t necessarily agree with.
“He sounds like a salty c*nt, to be honest,” Dillashaw told Submission Radio. “I just think he’s obviously jealous of me being able to stay in the top, you know – my layoff and how long I’ve been in the sport and me still be able to come back and prove that I’m still the best. And I did lose money, right? Me not fighting for two years while being a champion is a lot of money out of my pocket. (If I had) kept racking in the wins, getting title defenses, I mean, we’re talking about millions and millions of dollars that I let slip through my fingers because I made a f*cking stupid mistake.
“So yeah, I paid my time, I came back and f*cking grinded to get that win on f*cking one leg and one eye, and there’s nothing you can do to deny me that it’s my shot. So like I said, he’s just being salty, and that’s kind of his personality, anyways. He’s kind of an unlikable dude. I mean, I’ve always respected him and I think he’s got a good eye for stuff, but he’s got like this chip on his shoulder where he feels like everything’s owed to him, and he’s just like always complaining about sh*t.”
Cruz (24-3 MMA, 7-2 UFC) dethroned Dillashaw in 2016, a fight Dillashaw was adamant he won. Although Cruz is coming off back-to-back wins over Casey Kenney and Pedro Munhoz, Dillashaw doesn’t see him getting another shot at the title or the two of them rematching.
“It’s just his personality, and of course he’s going to say that,” Dillashaw said. “But it’s because he’ll never get there again. I don’t think he’ll ever have a shot to get the belt back, and that probably bothers him because at one time he was the best.
“I mean, I’ve got bigger fish to fry, to kind of be honest. If all the chips line up, I get my belt back, (Henry) Cejudo is saying (he’s back), you’ve got Jose Aldo. I think there’s a lot more dangerous and notable guys to fight.”
T.J. Dillashaw doesn’t think ‘salty c*nt’ Dominick Cruz will ever have a shot to get the belt back
