T.J.
Dillashaw completely turned his life around by winning the
bantamweight title against Renan
Barao.
Dillashaw (17-5) ended Barao’s title reign with a fifth-round
knockout at UFC 173 in 2014. Dillashaw revealed that he got just
$18,000 to show and $18,000 to win for his his first title victory.
Dillashaw earned his UFC contract on “The Ultimate Fighter” Season
14 in 2011, although he lost to John Dodson
in the finale. Dillashaw explained that “TUF” fighters were
onboarded with a $10,000 to show and $10,000 to win contract, which
got upgraded every three wins. Dillashaw was glad to tear apart his
“TUF” contract after dethroning Barao as his stardom skyrocketed
overnight.
‘I Shocked the World’
“My life changed completely after beating Barao,” Dillashaw said on
“The Jaxxon Podcast” “I was on ‘The Ultimate
Fighter’ contract. I was fighting for a world title for $18,000.
When I got to rip that contract… You’re on a 10-fight contract when
you get on from ‘The Ultimate Fighter,’ and you start off at 10/10,
after three wins you go 14/14, after three wins you go 18/18. So I
was getting $18,000 to show, $18,000 to win against the best
pound-for-pound fighter in the world. And I shocked the world… Just
changed my life.”
Dillashaw had two bantamweight title reigns in the UFC. Dillashaw
would rather have a steep fall from grace after he was caught using
PEDs.