Anthony Smith names the "one thing" that separates Aljamain Sterling and T.J. Dillashaw
Anthony Smith recently weighed in on the upcoming bantamweight title fight between Aljamain Sterling and T.J. Dillashaw, a bout which is being targeted for UFC 279 in September.
According to 'Lionheart', the knockout power in Dillashaw's hands is a vital differentiator between the two fighters.
Smith believes the matchup is favorable for 'Lieutenant Dan' as he is physically superior to Sterling and is clearly better in the stand-up game in addition to his elite wrestling skills. 'Lionheart' recently told Michael Bisping during an episode of Believe You Me:
"Without digging into it to much, I think it's a good matchup for T.J. to be honest. I think their both wrestling abilities are high level. I think T.J. is the more physically imposing fighter. He is definitely the better striker ... I like Aljo, I like Aljo a lot. I just, you know, Dillashaw's a fantastic wrestler, fantastic striker, got knockout power in his hands. That's the one thing that kind of separates them is Dillashaw does have that finishing ability with his hands."
Watch the latest episode of Believe You Me below:
According to multiple reports, the UFC is targeting a bantamweight clash between Sterling and Dillashaw for UFC 279. This will be Dillashaw's bid to become the second three-time champion in UFC history, behind Randy Couture, who achieved the feat at light heavyweight.
Aljamain Sterling wants a "pay bump" to defend his belt against T.J. Dillashaw
Aljamain Sterling scored a closely contested split decision victory over Petr Yan at UFC 273. 'Funk Master' certainly played the heel leading up to the fight, owing to his DQ title win over the Russian last year.
Sterling believes he has done his part as a company man and wants a "pay bump" ahead of his next title defense. Irrespective of media reports, the bantamweight champion claims that the contract for his bout against T.J. Dillashaw is yet to be finalized.
'Funk Master' said on his YouTube channel:
“There has been no escalator in this fight. I’d like to think I played my part, did the right things, and even allowed myself to be the bad guy in the last outing with Petr Yan, and help play up the storyline ... So one would think that being a company man would actually help you in the long run. So I did my job – as of right now, I’m training, hoping that we come to some type of agreement to give some type of pay bump which naturally happens in all the contracts.”
Watch Aljamain Sterling's YouTube video below: