TJ Dillashaw literally went out on a limb in his eighth UFC title fight.

The former two-time UFC Bantamweight Champion is one of the greatest fighters ever at 135lbs, having beaten then-champion Renan Barao and Cody Garbrandt twice as well as #4-ranked contender Cory Sandhagen.

Despite his resume, TJ Dillashaw had one of the most controversial final chapters in UFC history.

Following a two-year suspension for the performance-enhancing drug EPO, Dillashaw returned to the win column against Sandhagen in 2021 and was given a title fight a year later against Aljamain Sterling at UFC 280 in Oct. 2022.

Prior to the fight, Dillashaw failed to disclose a career-ending shoulder injury and refused to withdraw. On fight night, Dillashaw would lose in a lopsided second-round TKO after his shoulder popped out.

This would be Dillashaw’s last MMA fight. Years after his retirement, the former champion explains what made him so confident in beating Sterling even with the brutal handicap.

TJ Dillashaw thought he’d KO Aljamain Sterling with one arm: ‘His striking was garbage’

While on ‘The Jaxxon Podcast’, Quinton Jackson said he was at the gym the day Dillashaw’s shoulder popped out in training and told Dillashaw he wished he had pulled out of the Sterling fight.

Dillashaw explains why he didn’t.

“I was fighting a guy that I felt like I could still beat with the arm that I had,” Dillashaw said of Sterling.

“I felt like I could’ve knocked him out. Yeah, [with one arm].

“His striking is complete garbage,” Dillashaw added.

A wrestler at heart, Sterling dominated Dillashaw with his takedowns as Dillashaw grimaced in pain with his shoulder injury.

Dillashaw was heavily criticized for not withdrawing from the bantamweight title fight.

TJ Dillashaw says being ‘delusionally optimistic’ got him to the UFC title in the first place

The odds weren’t great for Dillashaw at UFC 280 but neither were his chances of fighting again after shoulder surgery. Dillashaw can’t raise his left arm too high nowadays because of the injury.

Still, Dillashaw pushed through and made it to his title fight against Sterling, where he attempted to become a three-time champion—a feat only Jon Jones and Randy Couture have been able to accomplish in the UFC.

“I know I’m gonna have to have shoulder surgery, so I’m gonna be out for another year and a half. I’m 36 years old. It’s kinda like, this might be my last f—— shot,” Dillashaw said.

“Ends up, yes, it was because my shoulder was so bad…

“So it’s like, why am I gonna pass up this opportunity? Might be my last shot ever to be a three time world champion [and] get my belt back.

“[The odds] were f—— awesome,” Dillashaw joked.

“I’m delusionally optimistic but I really believe that’s also what got me to the belt. I believed in myself so much that I was able to push through so much negativity and get to the top,” Dillashaw said.

The UFC is back in Vegas where welterweight prospect Michael Morales will get a real test in the main event against veteran Gilbert Burns. Our MMA team covers all 12 matchups on the slate with The Beatdown.

Photo: Swatch Nines

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Swatch Nines surf returns to Waco, Texas June 23-25 and the athlete lineup has been announced. Thirty-five surfers, skateboarders, and BMX stars will gather for the three-day progression session.

Surfers include Zoë McDougall, Coco Ho, Milla Coco Brown, Macy Callaghan, Juliette Lacome, Dimity Stoyle, Mason Ho, Balaram Stack, Noah Beschen, Matt Meola, Jacob Szekely, Blair Conklin, Chippa Wilson, Dylan Graves, Josh Sleigh, and Lyon Farrell.

The lineup of skateboarders will include Andy Anderson, Val LaForge, Gustavo Ribeiro, Gabriel Ribeiro, Greyson Fletcher, Clay Kreiner, and the five BMX athletes in Waco will feature Sam Pilgrim, Kevin Peraza, Matthias Dandois, Erik Fedko, and Dennis Enarson.

The Swatch Nines promotional webpage hasn’t released many other details aside from the new athlete lineup and new promo video, but then again, what else is there to reveal? Just show up and let ‘er rip.

“For nearly two decades, Swatch Nines has carved out a unique place in the world of action sports,” they wrote on YouTube. “With 17 years of innovative events across snow, skate, and surf, the concept is simple but powerful: bring together elite athletes, visionary designers, and partners to create a space that’s not about competing — it’s about pushing boundaries, capturing magic, and having fun.”

Global finance, innovation and leadership take center stage in Doha this week as the Qatar Economic Forum, powered by Bloomberg, returns for its fifth edition from May 20-22 at the Fairmont Doha. Under the theme “The Road to 2030: Transforming the Global Economy,” the forum underscores Qatar’s growing role as a hub for international dialogue and economic transformation.

More than 1,500 global leaders — including CEOs, investors, policymakers and cultural figures — will convene to explore five editorial pillars: geopolitics and trade, business outlook, energy and security, sports and entertainment, and technology and AI. This year’s lineup includes Michael R. Bloomberg, Mary Callahan Erdoes (JP Morgan), Tony Elumelu (Heirs Holdings) and Tan Su Shan (DBS Bank), offering high-level insights into the forces reshaping global capital, policy and industry.

Hosted by Media City Qatar in collaboration with Bloomberg, the forum aligns with Qatar National Vision 2030, emphasizing innovation, sustainability and economic resilience. With registration now closed, audiences can tune in to the live broadcast and follow key moments via social media.

Location: Fairmont Hotel, Doha

Dates: May 20-22

More details here.

CHICAGO — Egor Demin won’t be returning to BYU, but that doesn’t mean that he’s done with Utah.

Though he only spent one year in Utah under the tutelage of Cougars head coach Kevin Young, it turned into the perfect home away from home for the 2025 NBA draft prospect. So much so that the 19-year-old already has grand plans to eventually buy a house and retire in the Beehive State once his playing career is over.

“I love Utah. I see myself when I retire from my basketball career, going back to Utah, having a house over there, somewhere next to Travis Hansen in the mountains. I see myself living there after my career.”

—  Egor Demin

“I love Utah,” he said. “I see myself when I retire from my basketball career, going back to Utah, having a house over there, somewhere next to Travis Hansen in the mountains. I see myself living there after my career.”

It’s not just about the picturesque nature of Utah, but the deep connections that Demin made while at BYU. He wanted to end up in a place where he could not only find comfort and peace, but also where he would thrive on and off the court while preparing for the next stage of life — the NBA.

With Young having just taken over at BYU after years spent in the NBA coaching ranks, Demin feels like he is more prepared for the pre-draft process than he would have been had he decided to elsewhere.

“More than anybody could imagine, he prepared me for this moment,” Demin said. “More than I was expecting. Obviously I wasn’t underestimating him, I was expecting him to teach me and I was ready to learn as much as I can and be a sponge. But, yeah, I got so much from him.”

And the moment is here. This week, in Chicago, at the NBA combine, Demin has been ready and determined to prove himself in front of NBA scouts, front office executives and coaches.

In the early days of last season at BYU, Demin projected as a potential top-10 pick. But a minor injury and some major slippage in his shooting numbers had many worried that he could drop out of the lottery.

Despite that, recent mock drafts still have him projected as a lottery (top-14) pick and his shooting performance as well as his interviews with teams at the combine helped to relieve some of the worries.

In the the 3-point drills at the combine, Demin went 14-of-30 on off-the-dribble shots, 17-of-25 on spot-up shots, 14-of-25 in the 3-point star drill and 17-of-28 in the 3-point side drill and also hit 80% at the free-throw line.

Demin has already had interviews with the Atlanta Hawks, Sacramento Kings, Washington Wizards, Brooklyn Nets and Oklahoma City Thunder, he’ll have more interviews with teams as the week progresses and then a whole slate of in-person workouts after the combine is over.

In interviews, Demin wants teams to know how dedicated he is to working on his game and improving. He also wants NBA decision makers to know that he’s paid detailed and close attention to feedback regarding his shot and worked closely with Young to understand things that NBA teams will expect of him.

“The details of understanding what is a good shot and what is a bad shot, which is not always dependent on the defense,” Demin said. “A wide open shot can be a bad shot, speaking about the time of possession, the score — starting from there, and ending with your footwork, your rhythm, getting to the shot, your legs and energy.”

In the past, Demin might have considered every open shot a good one, but now he’s trying to think through the offense on an even deeper level. That’s often something that NBA coaches work on developing in young prospects throughout their first couple of seasons, so on that front, Demin is ahead of the game.

Those developments can only help to boost what teams think about Demin, but really, it’s his vision and passing that makes him a desirable prospect and that hasn’t changed. His ability to make passes, at the right time, on target and seeing the game multiple actions in advance has earned him comparisons to players like Luka Doncic, but Demin will tell you that it’s not his job to try to copy anyone else.

“Luka is pretty obvious — the big guards, passing — but obviously Luka is Luka and Egor is Egor, in a good way. I’m not trying to be like somebody else, I’m just trying to get pieces from different players and different personalities to build my own kind of project of where I’m seeing myself in the future.”

In the near future, Demin sees himself living out his dreams as an NBA player and helping a team to win. In the extended future he sees himself returning to where this process started, and hopefully staying close to those who helped him.

“I had a lot of fun being in Utah and I was going there to play basketball, and I found that, I found basketball over there,” Demin said. “But I also found a lot of good people and my new lifetime friends and mentors.”