Cory Sandhagen calls TJ Dillashaw’s past PED use “gross” ahead of grudge match at UFC Vegas 32

UFC bantamweight contender Cory Sandhagen called rival TJ Dillashaw’s past PED use “gross” ahead of their grudge match at UFC Vegas 32.

Sandhagen and Dillashaw meet in the five-round headliner of this Saturday’s UFC Vegas 32 card. They are former teammates in Denver, Colorado and with both men at the top of the UFC bantamweight division, there are some who believe the winner of this fight could get a title shot at 135lbs. It’s a huge fight for the bantamweight division and it’s a fight that is so much more intriguing just because of the fact that these two men used to train together.

Another reason this fight is so intriguing is that Dillashaw is coming back to the sport after a two-year layoff due to PED use. That last time we saw Dillashaw fight was all the way back in January 2019 when he got knocked out by Henry Cejudo and then got busted by USADA for EPO. Speaking to ESPN’s Brett Okamoto ahead of this weekend’s big matchup, Sandhagen said that while the PED thing is Dillashaw’s own problem, he thinks it’s “gross.”

Ahead of their #UFCVegas32 fight, Cory Sandhagen summed up his thoughts on TJ Dillashaw's past EPO use with one word.

(via @bokamotoESPN) pic.twitter.com/jODRVFYz3a

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) July 19, 2021

“As a competitor, and just kinda as a person, really the only word that I could kinda come up with for it is, it doesn’t bother me. TJ has to live with TJ’s decisions. I have to live with my decisions, but it is a little bit gross, in my opinion, to put yourself in an illegal advantage in a one-on-one combat scenario, in something you really love. If there’s a word for it, it’s kinda just gross,” Sandhagen said.

It will be interesting to see what happens in the fight between Sandhagen and Dillashaw this weekend, and if the bad blood and emotion spill over into the actual fight itself.

Who do you think wins this Saturday’s main event at UFC Vegas 32 between Cory Sandhagen and TJ Dillashaw?