"He's never done anything honest" - Aljamain Sterling plans to exploit T.J. Dillashaw's "mental weakness" when the two square off at UFC 280
Aljamain Sterling and T.J. Dillashaw are set to face-off for the bantamweight championship on a stacked card at UFC 280. Sterling will be looking for his second title defense, while Dillashaw will attempt to join Randy Couture and become the second fighter to win a UFC belt on three separate occasions.
The bantamweight title fight between Aljamain Sterling and TJ Dillashaw has been rescheduled for Oct. 22 in Abu Dhabi 🗓 https://t.co/60MDcCqn0F
Speaking on Submission Radio, Aljamain Sterling discussed his upcoming matchup against T.J. Dillashaw, offering his opponent praise while questioning the legitimacy of his accomplishments:
"He's one of the greatest of all-time in the bantamweight division... but I know first hand he has not done that the clean way like you should... My way of viewing T.J. is he's good, but he's never done anything honest and that let's me know he's got some type of mental weakness and I can crack it and find that chink in his armor somewhere in there within those 25 minutes."
Sterling continued by sharing his expectations for UFC 280:
"He's fighting a guy who can strike, he's fighting a guy who can wrestle and I think that's going to be the biggest difference... I respect everything he's done, but none of that was done on a clean slate."
While Aljamain Sterling shows respect for his opponent, he also clearly believes that T.J. Dillashaw's legacy has been tainted due to the failed drug test that cost him two years in suspension.
Watch Aljamain Sterling's comments on T.J. Dillashaw below (starting at the 14:52 mark):
Aljamain Sterling feels T.J. Dillashaw could be cheating
T.J. Dillashaw's UFC legacy has suffered due to his two-year suspension in the wake of a failed drug test. Aljamain Sterling believes that the No. 2-ranked bantamweight could still be looking to gain an unfair edge. Speaking to Submission Radio, the bantamweight champion stated:
"If I had to make a prediction then there's definitely no doubt in my mind that guy is consulting some type of doctor or microdosing or however that sh*t works. I guarantee you he's finding some type of way to get an edge once again as he's done his entire UFC career."
UFC champ Aljamain Sterling: 'Definitely no doubt in my mind' that T.J. Dillashaw still cheating #UFC280 mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2022/10/ufc-ne…
While these are very strong accusations to make, Dillashaw's history doesn't afford him much benefit of doubt. Dilllashaw previously shared that he is not worried about Sterling. However, his UFC 280 opponent has made it clear that he isn't buying that Dillashaw is now clean.