Nobody knows more about T.J. Dillashaw’s will to win than his former teammate, Urijah Faber.
After cornering three fighters to victory at UFC on ESPN 27 on Saturday, Faber rushed to the stands to watch Dillashaw (17-4 MMA, 13-4 UFC) take on Cory Sandhagen in the night’s headliner.
Dillashaw was able to squeak past Sandhagen (14-3 MMA, 7-2 UFC) for a split-decision win, battling through a compromised knee and nasty gash near his right eye. But based off of the damage he was able to inflict, Faber thinks Sandhagen could have very well gotten his hand raised.
“I thought it was an awesome fight, first off,” Faber told “Submission Radio.” “I mean, I know T.J. as well as anyone, and that guy is in there ’till death does he part in the ring – which I think is a good way to be when you’re all in on something. But yeah, it was super exciting. I was actually ringside. I came back out and watched, and I didn’t want to miss that one, and I thought it was an awesome fight. I mean, from where I was standing, I thought there were a couple of different ways (it could’ve gone). I thought Sandhagen would have got the nod based on him doing damage and landing the bigger punches and a lot more, I would say.”
But Faber also credited Dillashaw for his pressure, which he thinks played a major factor in two of the judges awarding him the fight.
“The one thing that T.J. had going for him was he was definitely in Sandhagen’s face,” Faber said. “Which he has to be, trying to close the gap on a long, lanky guy like that and pushing the fight pace. And then he had a lot of attempts and control time in the in-betweens of grappling or trying to grapple. I mean, he didn’t do much damage in those situations, other than the first round, but he was initiating.
“And so it depends if you’re looking at it like, hey, Sandhagen thwarted all his takedown attempts and did well in the clinch, etc. But T.J. was at least putting in the effort to get into those positions and spending a lot of time in there. So, I think that’s probably why he got the nod, because of the intent and the aggression and the forward motion. But Sandhagen definitely landed the more damaging shots, and I’d probably would say was landing more punches. But I haven’t looked at the punch stats.”
Dillashaw, a former two-time UFC bantamweight champion, made a successful return after serving a two-year U.S. Anti-Doping Agency suspension for EPO. Dillashaw was able to push the pace for all five rounds and knowing how competitive he is, Faber said he was not surprised.
“He looked like the same guy,” Faber said. “I mean, look, in the aftermath of having the guy on the team and then leaving the team and me always being dark on everything, I know a lot more stuff than most people do about the whole situation. But the one thing I can say is, the reason he’s cheating is because he’s a competitor. Like, not a fair competitor. He’s a cheap-shot guy. He’s a, you know, whatever it is. But the guy’s whole intent and focus is to win, and if someone’s a cheater because they don’t believe in themselves, that’s one thing. But if somebody does an actual assessment of what they need to gain, whether it be conditioning or strength or whatnot, and then cheat because of that, there’s a big difference. One is a mental weakness, and the other one is being a crafty cheat – you know, to gain financial and fame and whatever else, and he was able to do that.
“The layoff, I think he used the time well and came back with, the same guy he always has, as an older guy who put on some size and whatever else he’s been doing throughout the years. He’s a bigger than he was when he started in the sport, and I think it plays to his favor, and he’s always a competitor. I mean, that’s a legit champion mentality guy when it comes to competing.”
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