2. T.J. Dillashaw
Again, it should be pointed out that this list was assembled prior to Dillashaw's loss to Sterling, though in his defense, he is definitely past his prime at 36 years old. Yet, Dillashaw can be proud of what he has accomplished in the sport. Starting out as a dominating wrestler with all-time great cardio, he developed world-class striking under the tutelage of Duane Ludwig. Dillashaw joined the UFC after only four professional fights, making it to the finals of The Ultimate Fighter, where he was knocked out in under 2 minutes by John Dodson. After that, he went 4-0 against weaker opposition before stepping up to face Raphael Assuncao, who won a split decision in a fight in which most believed Dillashaw had prevailed. (Interestingly enough, Assuncao holds split decisions over both the No. 2 as well as the No. 3 entry on this list, Aljamain Sterling.) Dillashaw recovered with a decision against Mike Easton, then got the opportunity of his life in challenging the 135 pound kingpin and top pound-for-pound champion Renan Barao. In one of the biggest, most spectacular, and inspirational upsets ever, Dillashaw toppled Goliath via fifth round knockout. After an easy title defense against UFC newcomer Joe Soto, filling in for an injured Barao, Dillashaw would prove his victory was no fluke, defeating Barao even more decisively in the rematch with a fourth round stoppage. After that, Dillashaw faced the legend of the division, Dominick Cruz, who had just one fight in the past four years. Cruz worked his magic and won the decision, though it should be noted that it was very close, and one judge even scored the fight for Dillashaw. After defeating former coach turned bitter rival Urijah Faber by decision, Dillashaw would face Faber's best protégé and his own former friend Cody Garbrandt. As noted, Dillashaw was badly hurt early in both fights, but recovered to win by knockout. The UFC hype machine declared Dillashaw the greatest bantamweight of all time at this point, and too many were uncritically parroting it. However, this would be the end of Dillashaw's time at the top, though he was still only 32 years old. In an ill-advised attempt to drop down to flyweight to defeat champion Henry Cejudo and shutter the 125 pound weight class, Dillashaw was shockingly knocked out in just 32 seconds. Soon after, he tested positive for performance enhancing drugs, which led to a two-year suspension from the sport. Dillashaw came back and fought on very close terms with Cory Sandhagen, though I and most others felt that Sandhagen deserved the decision. Nevertheless, two of the three cageside judges felt differently and thanks to his fame and drawing power, Dillashaw received a completely undeserved title shot against Sterling. In what was little surprise to me, Sterling decimated the former champion, though it should be stressed again that at 36, Dillashaw was well past his prime. While Dillashaw's time among the divisional elite is likely over, he had a great career and defeated a slew of great contenders and champions.
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