"The guys that he was fighting were also on some s**t" - Brendan Schaub believes people should "root for" T.J. Dillashaw against Aljamain Sterling at UFC 280

Brendan Schaub recently made his case as to why fight fans should root for T.J. Dillashaw ahead of his fight against UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling at UFC 280. The former heavyweight fighter also stated that the opponents Dillashaw fought during his golden years were probably competing under the influence of PEDs.

The MMA community lashed out at Dillashaw after he tested positive for a banned substance in 2019. Sonn after his loss to Henry Cejudo, the Californian was banned for two years.

Breaking: TJ Dillashaw has been suspended two years by USADA. Tested positive for EPO prior to Jan. 19 title fight against Henry Cejudo. Dillashaw did not contest the suspension. https://t.co/R8zYWJinxN

While previewing the upcoming bantamweight title clash on his YouTube channel, Schaub made note of the fact that Dillashaw spent two years away from the sport redeeming himself.

The former UFC heavyweight suggested that T.J. Dillashaw was punished enough by missing out on his prime athletic years. Schaub added that the UFC did him no favors by pitting him against Cory Sandhagen upon his return:

"If you're going to hate on T.J. for that, did he not pay the price in the middle of his prime? Do we not forgive people? Is there no redemption story? ... Here's the other thing why you should root for T.J. Dillashaw: [He] served his time, two years off, no income, life, kids, another baby... comes back and fights Cory Sandhagen."

'Big Brown' also believes that Dillashaw's former opponents were probably on steroids. With that, he implored fans to rally behind the former two-time bantamweight champion's path to redemption:

"If he learned from his mistakes, came back, and now he's fighting for a title shot... you're telling me the UFC cannot use this as a narrative to show a guy that made awful mistakes? PEDs is very prevalent in this business. I know you guys want to make T.J. Dillashaw the poster boy but the guys that he was fighting were also on some s**t, too. It's just the nature of the business."

Watch the full video below:

T.J. Dillashaw believes Aljamain Sterling is already making excuses for his loss with steroids accusations

Ahead of the second defense of his bantamweight title, Aljamain Sterling isn't entirely convinced that T.J. Dillashaw will come in clean for their scheduled fight at UFC 280 this weekend.

Aljamain Sterling "made peace" with fighting a "souped up" TJ Dillashaw at #UFC280 😬

More from @DamonMartin 📰 bit.ly/SterlingFvW https://t.co/J7dTor0bzP

Even UFC president Dana White noted that Dillashaw is likely being tested multiple times by USADA ahead of his opportunity to become a three-time champion at UFC 280.

Speaking with MMA Junkie while previewing his fight, Dillashaw claimed that Sterling is already making excuses with the steroid accusations:

"He’s got to say something to downplay how good I am. I’m going to whoop his a*s coming up soon in 10 weeks. He’s got to make some sort of excuse of why I’m winning, or who I am and why I am. It don’t bother me. It’s just a bunch of bullsh*t excuses."

Watch the full interview below: