JRE MMA Show #57 with T.J. Dillashaw

Joe Rogan (0:01)

Here we go, five, four, three, two, one. How are you, brother?

T.J. Dillashaw (0:08)

I'm doing good, man.

Joe Rogan (0:09)

What is it like now? What is this, first of all, what was it like that night? If our people don't know, let me just give you the rundown, just so you don't have to say it. You were involved in one of the most high-profile flyweight fights ever. You're the Bantamweight champion, you dropped down to flyweight, you went through this extensive training routine to get your body down to a manageable weight where you can cut the last 10 pounds or so and make 125 The fight starts, Sohudo lands a good shot early, there's a lot of action, and the referee stops the fight.

And I was shook by it. Everybody that I was watching the fight with was like, what the fuck?

And it was almost universal. No one thought it was a good stoppage. It's one of those stoppages where no one goes, yeah, it's a good stoppage, a good stoppage. No one. Everybody was like, what the fuck? You jumped off and you're like, dude, come on, come on, man.

T.J. Dillashaw (1:06)

It's been rough, man. It's a rough one to swallow on multiple reasons. Like you say, he landed a good shot.

Everything's being overshadowed by this shot that landed behind my ear.

I was off balance, I threw a right hand, I came in a little too aggressive, that's the way I fight. He pushed me over, I was off balance. He threw a kick, I blocked it, and he went to throw a right hand, and I tried to dip out of the way. And it was one of those shots that hits you behind the head, like right behind the ear. Not illegal, right? We're on our feet, it's completely illegal, but it was an unfortunate situation. One of those punches just kind of takes your feet off from underneath you. You're 100% there, but your equilibrium's off, you know, and he jumps on me.

I remember hearing the ref say, Dillashaw, show me something. I told him I'm good.

And I remember talking to him before the fight in the back, and he said, like, if I'm telling you that, make sure you're talking to me, give me, show me something, you know?

Joe Rogan (1:53)

But how are you talking? I said it.

T.J. Dillashaw (1:55)

I said I'm good.

Joe Rogan (1:56)

But from his perspective, how does he expect you to talk while you're blocking punches?

T.J. Dillashaw (2:03)

He even said, too, in the back before the fight, too, like, give me a thumbs up or something if you're gonna choke, this or that, you know? So to be honest, I didn't know who he was. I think he's really inexperienced. Watching him ref, as well, too, jumping around as soon as the commotion kind of happened, he was looking for a reason to stop, almost.

But I can't-

Joe Rogan (2:22)

I think he was amped up.

T.J. Dillashaw (2:23)

It was a big fight.

Joe Rogan (2:24)

Big fight for him, too. You know, for him to get a high-profile fight, first time on ESPN+, big deal.

T.J. Dillashaw (2:30)

100%.

Joe Rogan (2:30)

Huge, huge deal.

T.J. Dillashaw (2:31)

100%. So I think that's the part that most bugged me more, is that I was there, but it was the shot that hit me behind the head.

And then, obviously, the controversial stoppage. So it's a rough one to swallow. You know, it's definitely been bugging me, but I'm good at keeping my mind off of things and staying busy and already back in the gym, doing business things and trying to stay as busy as possible so I don't think about it and want to punch a hole through a wall every time I walk by one.

Joe Rogan (2:56)

Well, it's such a different fight because it was such an arduous task for you to get down the flyway. And I mean, people are looking. You look great right now. Your face is full. You look healthy. But goddamn, dude, I saw you the week of the fight on television. Yeah. And I was like, look at his face.

T.J. Dillashaw (3:11)

I looked like a tweaker.

Joe Rogan (3:12)

Yeah, you did. You looked like you were, you know, so who doesn't say the best? You look like an ultra marathon runner.

Like some guy who runs long distances.

T.J. Dillashaw (3:20)

If I would have decided to lose all the weight at the end, I wouldn't have looked like that, right? But I got my body down to 5% to 6% body fat, you know? So when I start losing anything towards the end, it's going to come, you're going to see it out of my face, you know? And I'm one of those guys that loses and gains weight out of my face, you know?