TJ Dillashaw still doesn’t think Aljamain Sterling is that good.
In the lead-up to UFC 280, Dillashaw made it known that he thought he would be able to beat Sterling with ease as he thought he was mediocre everywhere. However, that didn’t come to fruition as he suffered a second-round TKO loss in a fight he was dominated in. Although he lost, part of it was due to the fact he dislocated his shoulder early into the fight.
TJ Dillashaw's corner popped his shoulder back into place! Wild! 😳 #UFC280pic.twitter.com/mmD3q4o91F
— Chamatkar Sandhu (@SandhuMMA) October 22, 2022
What did TJ Dillashaw say after the loss?
Even after the loss, Dillashaw still wasn’t impressed with Sterling and he is now calling him the most beatable champ in the UFC.
“I took a gamble, as well, and that’s why it’s called f*cking gambling,” TJ Dillashaw on “The MMA Hour.” “You don’t know the situation. I took a gamble. I could have sat out and got surgery, but when I come back, who knows if I’m gonna get a title shot right away? Or I’m going to have to fight my way back up in it or how bad this shoulder is. Let’s be honest: This is my third surgery in my left shoulder. It’s not like I’m a spring f*cking chicken, and it’s going to be an easy fix. It’s a serious thing. I will be coming back. I’m not gonna let my story end that way.
“But it’s still in the back of your head: I go and get surgery, I’m out for a year. And I was just out on surgery. There’s no guarantee you get a title fight when you come back,” Dillashaw continued. “There’s a lot of options I’m weighing out of me getting this fight against a guy that’s very beatable. I think he’s the most beatable champion right now in the division. People are gonna give me sh*t for that, but I think he’s got some big holes in his game, and I matched up well with him. So I’m going to roll them dice, and I’m going to bet on myself even with one arm.”
As of right now, Aljamain Sterling has defended his title twice but his reign has been filled with controversy. With that, TJ Dillashaw isn’t going to give him any credit for being the bantamweight champ.
“I feel like he was gifted the belt to begin with, and then he squeaked by with a win (in the rematch against Petr Yan),” Dillashaw said. “He’s a great athlete, he’s on a great win streak, he’s gotten to the top, but I don’t think he’s the best champion we’ve got out there. I don’t think he’s the best in the division, especially in the division we have, and that was an opportunity I wasn’t going to let slip through my fingers even though it did. My opinion has not changed. … I think his teammate, Merab (Dvalishvili), beats him.”
Whether or not someone will beat Aljamain Sterling anytime soon is uncertain, but TJ Dillashaw thinks he’ll lose his belt soon.
