Among the storylines heading into this Saturday's bantamweight title bout has been the claim from champion Cody Garbrandt that challenger T.J. Dillashaw concussed training partner Chris Holdsworth when the three were all still team members at Team Alpha Male.
While Holdsworth had previously remained silent about the alleged incident, he confirmed Monday on The MMA Hour that, while he hasn't officially decided to retire, an illegal knee by Dillashaw gave him a concussion that has had lingering affects, causing him to take a break from the Octagon.
"I've been quiet about this for awhile," Holdsworth said, according to Shaun Al-Shatti of MMA Fighting. "I'm just not the type of person to jump into people’s feuds or drama. I like to lay low and just do my thing, but there’s been some talk, and after I heard T.J. lying about the subject, I've got to speak up on it ...
"There was multiple occasions where T.J. got a little bit too aggressive, he went overboard in training. He's kneeing you while we’re boxing. He's throwing elbows while we're doing jiu-jitsu. And I remember that instance that’s out in the public - yeah, it's definitely true."
Dillashaw, who left TAM in 2014, has denied the story which was first made public by Garbrandt and the gym's founder Uriah Farber. Holdsworth managed to have a successful run on The Ultimate Fighter 18 in 2013, but rather clearly recalls the day Dillashaw concussed him.
"I shot in on T.J. and I was on all fours, he was sprawled out and he kneed me on top of the head," recounted Holdsworth. "And that was before The Ultimate Fighter. I remember I was kinda jarred up and everyone was watching, and I took like 30 seconds off and I kept going, I kept going through the rounds and I finished practice.
"But after that practice, I was concussed, and that was my first concussion. And it just kinda kept happening from there."
Holdsworth, who last fought in May 2014, said he didn't hold anything against Dillashaw for his competitive spirit, but after hearing allegations that his former team member had used "special supplements" and that he denied the concussion story, the sidelined fighter felt compelled to speak out.
