TJ Dillashaw is no longer the UFC bantamweight champion, having been stripped of that honor when he tested positive for EPO earlier this year. Despite the fact that Dillashaw no longer holds the UFC bantamweight division’s ultimate prize, however, top contender Marlon Moraes still wants to fight him.

“Yes I want to fight him 100-percent,” Moraes told MMA Weekly recently. “I don’t care if he’s taking, if he’s not taking, I want to put my hands on him one day. I want to make him pay for everyone he made pay. I want to put him in a bad spot and show him what is real. I know I’m better than this guy, especially now knowing what he was doing.

“There’s no way that guy can beat me. He can be out forever and then come back and I’ll be more than happy to welcome him back to the UFC and defend my belt against him.”

After testing positive for the injectable-only performance enhancer EPO, TJ Dillashaw was suspended for two years by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA).

Marlon Moraes, meanwhile, is now set to fight reigning UFC flyweight champ Henry Cejudo for the vacant bantamweight title at UFC 238.

Depending on how things shake out, Moraes could very well be holding the UFC bantamweight belt when Dillashaw is eligible to return to action in 2021. Suffice it to say that Moraes’ desired showdown with the former champ is definitely still possible.

This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 5/3/2019.