[ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED APRIL 22, 2019, 12:11 PM]
Joseph Benavidez wasn’t exactly taken aback by T.J. Dillashaw’s failed drug test.
Dillashaw relinquished his Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) gold after being hit with a one-year suspension by the New York State Athletic Commission (NYSAC) for a failed drug test. Things went from bad to worse as the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) suspended Dillashaw for two years due to EPO use.
Benavidez Weighs In On Dillashaw’s Failed Drug Test
Benavidez is a former teammate of Dillashaw. In an interview with MMA Junkie, Benavidez said Dillashaw’s anti-doping violation wasn’t difficult to see coming (via MMAFighting.com):
“I wasn’t surprised at all that he finally got caught. Wasn’t surprising at all. There’s nothing I can really say as far as, like, that hasn’t already been said. I’m not gonna sit here and say the guy is this and that because if you look at the internet and everyone, it’s already been said. So there’s nothing worse you can say than what everyone already thinks, which I think is warranted. Everything that people are out there giving him, it’s 100 percent warranted for what he did.
“It just goes to show, there’s consequences for what you do and you can’t hide who you are forever. I’m surprised it took that long for him to get caught, and hid what he’s about this long. But you can’t hide that stuff forever. It’s great that it came out. There are consequences and if anything, I don’t think the consequences are that much. It’s not that bad. Get some surgeries. You got paid the day after the fight anyway. So it’s not like you’re getting suspended for the year. But like I said, it’s all the other things. All the disgrace and everything that is warranted, and maybe hurts more. Like I said, the truth will come out at some point and you can’t hide that stuff forever.”
Benavidez is scheduled to take on Jussier Formiga on June 29 at UFC on ESPN 4. UFC president Dana White has said the winner of that bout will get a title opportunity, but he wasn’t clear on if it would be for the flyweight or bantamweight gold.
