After reclaiming the bantamweight title at November's UFC 217, T. J. Dillashaw set his sights on a superfight with reigning flyweight champ Demetrious Johnson. Expecting that a date would soon be finalized, T.J. never allowed himself much of a break as he prepared to slim down to the 125-pound flyweight limit. Alas, hopes for the highly anticipated event were dashed in March when UFC president Dana White announced that it’s “not happening.”
Although frustrated by the news, Dillashaw will still defend his title in an August rematch with Cody Garbrandt. In the meantime, he is preparing to compete in his first Ironman Triathlon, because apparently when you’re a professional athlete who is in one kind of ridiculous shape, you want to see if that translates to another sport, too, just for fun. We caught up with Dillashaw to discuss the differences between training to beat others up and training to beat yourself up—and to hear about all the foods he misses most.
GQ: What did you think upon hearing Dana White announce that the fight between you and Demetrious Johnson wouldn’t be happening?
T. J. Dillashaw: Yeah, man. We’d been trying to finalize that fight since earlier this year, and then Demetrious had shoulder surgery, so we had to wait a little bit longer, and now for them to say it’s not going to happen is a little frustrating. I’ve been on a diet since I won my belt. I didn’t take a break. Usually, after a fight, you go off of your diet for a little bit and enjoy life. I stuck to it because I knew I had to bring my body mass down. I got into this sport because I love it, and because I love beating people up. I don’t like the politics of fighting, and trying to figure out who you’re going to fight and when. It’s definitely a little discouraging.
T. J. Dillashaw: Yeah, man. We’d been trying to finalize that fight since earlier this year, and then Demetrious had shoulder surgery, so we had to wait a little bit longer, and now for them to say it’s not going to happen is a little frustrating. I’ve been on a diet since I won my belt. I didn’t take a break. Usually, after a fight, you go off of your diet for a little bit and enjoy life. I stuck to it because I knew I had to bring my body mass down. I got into this sport because I love it, and because I love beating people up. I don’t like the politics of fighting, and trying to figure out who you’re going to fight and when. It’s definitely a little discouraging.
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