"He might've been more reckless and made it easier" - Aljamain Sterling shuts down claims of UFC 280 fight having different outcome if not for TJ Dillashaw's injury
Aljamain Sterling's highly-anticipated title matchup at UFC 280 ended prematurely when TJ Dillashaw suffered a dislocated shoulder. However, the champ believes the outcome wouldn't have changed regardless of his opponent's health.
According to 'Killashaw' himself, he suffered from a shoulder dislocation throughout his entire camp. He claimed it came out of its socket at least 20 times in the build-up to UFC 280.
Since the loss, the UFC rankings have been updated and the 135lb contender saw himself drop three places to #5 in the division.
Aljamain Sterling responded to a social media post, insisting that a healthy Dillashaw may have been more reckless, making a victory even easier.
"What's fascinating to me is that all you media outlets truly feel [that] had his shoulder not dislocated from my initial take down, or if it was healthy, that it would've changed anything. He would've kicked. I would've caught it. Game over. He might've been more reckless and made it easier."
The injury occurred early into their fight. However, 'Funk Master' was able to control the entirety of the bout, securing takedowns at will and dominating the ground game.
Credit should be given to TJ Dillashaw for his incredible show of heart and grit. Nonetheless, more praise must be shed onto the champion for the complete domination that was on display. Unofficially outlanding his opponent by 148 strikes to 13, the bantamweight king proved just how much of a problem he can be for challengers.
Check out what Aljamain Sterling had to say about the bizarre situation in the post below:
What’s fascinating to me is that all you media outlets truly feel had his shoulder not dislocate from my initial TD, or if it was healthy, that it would’ve changed anything. 😑
He would’ve kicked.
I would’ve caught it.
Game over.
He might’ve been more reckless and made it easier twitter.com/morningkombat/…
What's next for Aljamain Sterling?
After successfully defending his title for a second time, Aljamain Sterling finds himself being headhunted by a number of top contenders within his division.
Following Sean O'Malley's controversial win last weekend, he jumps to #1 in the weight class and could well be next in line for 'Aljo'. Many considered his win to be a robbery, but the razor-close bout answered a lot of questions for 'Sugar' as he proved that he belongs amongst the elite at 135lbs.
There are multiple fighters all ready to step into the cage to fight for the title, including Chito Vera, Cory Sandhagen, and Merab Dvalishvili. However, Dana White has stated that Henry Cejudo could be the champ's next defense.