{"id":369979,"date":"2020-12-03T06:58:52","date_gmt":"2020-12-03T14:58:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/?p=369979"},"modified":"2020-12-03T06:58:52","modified_gmt":"2020-12-03T14:58:52","slug":"tj-dillashaw-admits-he-would-have-been-able-to-justify-epo-use-if-hed-never-been-caught","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/ufc\/tj-dillashaw-admits-he-would-have-been-able-to-justify-epo-use-if-hed-never-been-caught\/","title":{"rendered":"TJ Dillashaw admits he “would have been able to justify” EPO use if he’d never been caught"},"content":{"rendered":"

TJ Dillashaw says he would have been able to “justify” his use of the banned substance Erythropoietin (EPO) if he’d become a two-division UFC champ.<\/p>\n

In early 2018, Dillashaw, then the UFC bantamweight champion, dropped down to flyweight to challenge divisional champ Henry Cejudo in a bid to become a two-division titleholder. After losing the fight via first-round TKO, Dillashaw tested positive<\/a> for the injectable-only banned substance EPO, and was stripped of his title and suspended two years as a result.<\/p>\n

After testing positive for EPO, Dillashaw admitted that he used the drug to help manage his brutal weight-cut down to the 125-pound flyweight limit.<\/p>\n

As Dillashaw’s suspension draws to a close, and his return to the Octagon approaches, he sat down with Brett Okamoto of ESPN, the official broadcast partner of the UFC. When asked how he would have felt if he’d defeated Cejudo and never been caught for using EPO, Dillashaw was undeniably honest.<\/p>\n

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“I would have made that excuse to myself. I feel like I would have been able to justify it, how f—ed up that is.”@TJDillashaw<\/a> candidly answered whether he would have been able to justify taking EPO, had he not been caught. (via @bokamotoESPN<\/a>) pic.twitter.com\/Yc9WqkSV3F<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 ESPN MMA (@espnmma) December 3, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n