Let’s just say Artem Lobov isn’t exactly a fan of one Tyler Jeffrey Dillashaw.
This Saturday at UFC Vegas 32, T.J. Dillashaw will make his Octagon return after serving a two-year USADA suspension for taking EPO. Whether you love Dillashaw or hate him, fans around the world are excited to see how he looks in his return against a bona fide stud in Cory Sandhagen, even if they are rooting for his downfall.
In the case of Artem Lobov, when he hears the name “T.J. Dillashaw,” what comes to mind isn’t any level of excitement at all but rather an anger at a miscarriage of justice. And when he looks at Dillashaw, he sees someone who should have been arrested but instead got off Scot free without facing any substantial punishment.
“I actually listened and heard Mike Tyson talk about PEDs in sports. It’s assault. You should be getting criminal charges for that,” Lobov said in an interview with TheMacLife. “And on top of that, I would like to add the money should have been taken from him. I mean, let’s be honest. If they caught him right before the fight, the fight wouldn’t have happened, and he wouldn’t have gotten paid. So if you caught him after, well then why should he just still keep the money? He done that illegally. If you win in a casino by cheating, do you keep the winnings? No! They get taken off you. So it should be the same story here.”
Lobov’s harsh take on Dillashaw isn’t limited to the one fight connected to the test failure in 2019. He believes Dillashaw’s entire body of work has been nullified and that he is still reaping the long-term benefits from his EPO usage. Therefore, Lobov argues that Dillashaw should have zero opportunity for redemption and instead be banished from the sport of MMA.
“To me, he will forever be tainted. To me, all his achievements mean nothing. If you take a guy with one fight but clean fighter, to me, he’s achieved more than a dirty fighter like TJ who won belts and all this…
“And on top of that, the advantage that he has built while being on PEDs and training, that stays with him now. Yeah, it’s not the same as being right on it, but it still stays with you. He was able to train more. He was able to push harder. And all that affects his muscles. All that affects his development. And he’s still getting the fruits of that cheating. He shouldn’t be allowed in the sport at all.”
Do you agree with Artem Lobov’s brutal take on T.J. Dillashaw here? Should he be banned from competing in MMA?
