T.J. Dillashaw believes Aljamain Sterling isn’t dangerous.
In April, Sterling successfully defended his bantamweight title by winning a split decision over Petr Yan in their rematch at UFC 273. The win vindicated Sterling, who received an enormous amount of backlash for the way he won the belt. This also made “Funk Master” the most powerful bantamweight fighter in the world.
But for Dillashaw who was seated cageside for the fight, this didn’t alter his general feelings about Sterling.
“He won the fight,” Dillashaw told Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour. The first was a s ***** method to win the belt and the manner he handled it left him really dislikable. But still, I don’t feel like he gained that much more respect for the fact that he’s not a dangerous fighter.
“He is not someone that you need to worry about getting done or going to bed. I’ve always known he’s great. He’s got some great skills in what he does. He’s not a fighter to me. He is more an athlete. Our sport is pro athletes. But we are all fighters who want to get the finish .”
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Dillashaw is set to challenge Sterling in the UFC co-main event for the bantamweight championship. For Dillashaw, it’s a fight that presents different and arguably more advantageous challenges than the one he was expecting against Yan.
” I think both of them have their problems, but they just have different parts,” Dillashaw stated. Yan is a tough opponent. You have to be willing to fight him. He’s kind of like that gangster, in your face, ready to go. You have to be careful about Aljo not controlling the fight and placing it where he wants. So it’s a little bit different, but I think I match up really well with Aljo, to be honest.”
If everything goes to plan for Dillashaw, he will join Randy Couture as the only fighters in UFC history to win an undisputed title three times in the same weight class. The two-time bantamweight champion has big plans if he’s able to execute.
Henry Cejudo, who failed to win the flyweight title against Dillashaw was his most recent defeat. With Cejudo set to return to action following a brief retirement, he hopes that once he wins the belt, they can run back their fight at 135 pounds.
“100 percent – how could I not?” Dillashaw said of a rematch with Cejudo. “I feel like the chips are all lining up perfectly, to be honest. Get the belt back, Cejudo’s coming out of retirement — which I knew was all bulls*** anyways. Come on, I knew from the beginning it wasn’t a real retirement, he was trying to get paid more, but it kind of backfired on him, and now he’s coming back, so kind of perfect timing.”
UFC 280 takes place Oct. 22 at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi.
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