Everyone watching UFC Vegas 32 on TV and many in around the cage in attendance knew something had gone wrong with TJ Dillashaw’s knee during the first round of his recent razor close decision victory over Cory Sandhagen.
Dilashaw(17-4) confirmed late Monday via his social media that he ruptured his LCL and will be having surgery to repair the damage most likely this week.
Dillashaw wrote: “Went in for a mri today, found out that I suffered a displaced Bucket Handle tear of the Lateral Meniscus and a Lateral Collateral Ligament (LCL) rupture at the end of the first round landing ground and pound while being lazy in a compromised position,” Dillashaw wrote on his official Instagram account. “The good news is that these tears are repairable and will have a very speedy recovery. Going in for surgery in the next couple days. Loved being in the cage even though I had to push through some adversities to grit out the win. Thank you for the support, it’s belt season now.”
The fight was TJ’s first since 2019 after he served a 2 year suspension after failing a post fight drug test for EPO. This surgery does not appear to be one that is followed by extended time off from training and competing.
After this victory over Sandhagen, Dillishaw is once again back in the top 5 Bantamweight rankings, coming in at #4, 1 spot behind Sandhagen(14-3). With the top 2 fighters in the division, Aljamain Sterling© and Petr Yan squaring off in a rematch this October in Abu Dhabi, after their first fight ended with Sterling leaving with the championship following a DQ win, Dillashaw could be next in line for a title bout.