Aljamain Sterling isn’t buying that T.J. Dillashaw is on the straight and narrow.
In October, Sterling puts his bantamweight title on the line against Dillashaw in the co-main event of UFC 280 — and though the bout is still over two months away, the trash talk has already started between the two competitors. After the fight was announced, Dillashaw came out and told MMA Fighting that Sterling “is not a dangerous fighter” and that Sterling mostly tries to make fights “a snoozefest.” On Wednesday, Sterling responded to Dillashaw’s comments, saying that he’s compensating for his own insecurities.
” The athletes have taken over the sport. So he can say whatever it is that he wants to say, I’m going to be smarter in there, I’m going to be faster in there, I’m going to be stronger than him in there, I’m going to be the bigger guy in there, and we’ll see who’s the most dangerous guy in the division,” Sterling said on The MMA Hour.
“This division is what everyone says is the most difficult. I am at the top, but you say I’m not dangerous. How does this speak for everyone else? It’s just talk to me. I think he’s just got to tell himself something to make himself feel good, and if that’s his way of doing it — to s*** on somebody else — I guess kudos to you. But I know what I’m going in there to do, and we’ll see what happens on Oct. 22.”
Sterling didn’t stop there though.
” The Funk Master went in on Dillashaw to ask about his previous steroid use. He said that it was also a sign for weakness. He then suggested that Dillashaw is still cheating the system.
” When he talks about this stuff, I am like, “Dude, you were the same s*** as [Renan Barao]. Sterling stated that whatever it was, no matter how different, it was certain you were on something. Your teammates exposed you many years ago. There’s been rumors, even before that press conference happened with him and Cody Garbrandt, there were rumors going on for the longest. What are you going to do? You can sit down and complain ****, or you could say “Oh, I heard he was cheating. Let me go spy on him.” Your friends will be astonished. You need to be doing this to survive and to feel good at night.
” Isn’t it amazing that Henry Cejudo knocked him out with a foot? It wasn’t the shin, it wasn’t the foot — it was the toe that knocked him down and wobbled him the way that it did. And he came back and took those monster shots from Cory Sandhagen — hmm, I don’t know, my man. It’s not clear. I know you can make the argument, ‘Oh, he cut too much weight, the brain fluids.’ Miss me with that s***. The guy’s still cheating. He’s still finding ways to cheat. He was once a cheater and he is still a cheater. It’s going to be nice just to beat that guy, to get a feather in my cap and to admit that I did it right. He’s a p ****.”
Dillashaw had his USADA suspension for two years following failing drug testing for EPO before he fought Henry Cejudo at flyweight in 2019.. To win this title, he returned to 2021, fighting and won a split victory over Cory Sandhagen.
Dillashaw has adamantly maintained that he never took any banned substances for his bantamweight bouts, even explaining that USADA went back and tested his old samples, yet the accusation remains. But Sterling seems to have no intention of giving Dillashaw the benefit of the doubt.
“I’m very indifferent about T.J., and the main thing is the guy is a cheating little weasel that’s been doing this for years,” Sterling said. On one hand, I admire him for his work ethic, drive, and determination to put in the effort and win the fights. You get a hand clap.
“But the second side of it, you’ve done it the dirty way. It wasn’t something you did on your merit or your blood, sweat and tears. So I’m a little annoyed by that, and I get an opportunity to fight another guy who is considered one of the greatest of all-time in this division. It’s an honor to be able to defeat a man like this.
“Hopefully I get to strangle him,” Sterling continued. Sterling said, “It would be the perfect situation, because it would be sweet victory in that sense of, ‘Oh, he’s not a danger fighter’. Last time I checked, you got your face punched in by Cory Sandhagen. This did not happen for me. … Although I don’t intend to use MMA math here, I do like the odds. T.J. works hard, but you’re going to have a dog in front of you that’s going to work just as hard, if not harder.”
UFC 280 will take place in Abu Dhabi on October. 22 is held at Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Arena.
