"It's like, 'Damned if you do and damned if you don't'" - T.J. Dillashaw details the "culmination of things" that led him to not pull out of the fight against Aljamain Sterling at UFC 280
UFC bantamweight contender T.J. Dillashaw believes he was in a lose-lose situation before his UFC 280 bout with Aljamain Sterling.
Dillashaw was vying for another run with the bantamweight title when he stepped into the octagon against Sterling. Fans who were expecting a close-fought war were left disappointed when 'Funk Master' took immediate control of the fight. After the first grappling exchange, Dillashaw appeared hurt and looked a shadow of the fighter fans had expected to see.
'Aljo' remained on top for the entirety of the bout before finishing the 36-year-old via TKO in the second round. It was later revealed by T.J. Dillashaw that he was suffering from a dislocated shoulder that he originally injured in April.
Aljamain Sterling TKOs TJ Dillashaw!
Dillashaw's tough, battling through the dislocated shoulder as long as he did. https://t.co/rbxiFZRPed
According to Dillashaw, the shoulder had popped out at least 20 times prior to the fight. The former champion has since been the subject of criticism for stepping into the octagon while injured. In an interview with ESPN's Brett Okamoto, Dillashaw responded to the controversy:
"When I was three weeks out, I was thinking, 'Man, this isn't good. Now I'm going to ruin the whole card.' It's like damned if you do, damned if you don't. Say I'm two weeks out and I say my shoulder's too bad, then I'm gonna get so much sh*t for pulling out of the fight... There was a culmination of things that happened that led to that situation."
Catch the interview here:
UFC strawweight Vanessa Demopoulos says T.J. Dillashaw had time to have surgery and recover
Vanessa Demopoulos has claimed T.J. Dillashaw was "irresponsible" for stepping into the octagon while injured against Aljamain Sterling.
According to Demopoulos, Dillashaw has tarnished Sterling's legacy by not competing at peak fitness. 'Funk Master' is already the subject of controversy over two dubious wins over Petr Yan, and a victory over an injured Dillashaw adds to that.
In an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda MMA's James Lynch, Vanessa Demopoulos expressed that she felt sorry for Sterling after he defeated Dillashaw:
"Poor Aljamain who's like sitting here winning these fights and taking all the heat from the fans in the aftermath where they're trying to like discredit him for being a champion. Dude, like the man's putting in work, he's winning these fights fairly dominantly."
Demopoulos added that T.J. Dillashaw had more than enough time to disclose the injury, schedule surgery and recover before fighting Sterling:
"If you [Dillashaw] knew back in April that you had an injury and you're fighting for a title in October... that is so far out. You could have gotten a whole surgery and rehabbed for six whole weeks and then continued on to an entire fight camp by the time October came around. It was extraordinarily irresponsible on T.J's part to even allow that to be an excuse."
Catch the exclusive interview here: