Former UFC bantamweight champion T.J. Dillashaw is currently five months into a two-year suspension handed to him after being found to have tested positive for EPO, a performance enhancing substance most often applied as an injectable. 

Dillashaw admitted his wrong-doing in a lengthy video statement on Instagram, reiterating that he will return to action once his suspension is served and apologised to fans, friends, coaches and training partners for his transgression. However, some figures within the MMA community have suggested that it is unfair for Dillashaw to return so swiftly, particularly when he may still be experiencing the benefits of having ingested the substance.

Urijah Faber, Dillashaw’s former friend and training partner at Team Alpha Male, says that he does expect Dillashaw to return to action once his suspension is over and that he expects him to be a “beast” when he sets foot on the Octagon canvas again.

“He’s going to be a beast. He’ll put the scientist’s cap back on and figure out how he can have an advantage. That’s the way he plays it’s one thing if people just cheat,” Faber said on UFC Tonight via Aaron Bronsteter.

“It’s another thing if they cheat and they’re really intelligent about it and they work really hard and they have natural gifts and that’s the scenario here. If you’re going to be a cheat, you may as well be a cheat like that.

“Now, do I think he’ll be clean? Will there be after effects from whatever he’s been doing all these years? Probably, he’ll have made some gains on that,” Faber continued. “There’s no doubt that he’ll be a tough guy and people will forget about it like all the other guys who’ve been caught cheating.”

Dillashaw’s last fight before the suspension was announced was an unsuccessful bid to claim the UFC flyweight title from Henry Cejudo, as the Olympic wrestler knocked him out inside 30 seconds of the first round.