"If I was fighting Petr Yan, I might have second-guessed going in there" - T.J. Dillashaw explains why he didn't mind fighting Aljamain Sterling with an injured shoulder
T.J. Dillashaw was attempting to make history and become the first three-time UFC bantamweight champion at UFC 280 against Aljamain Sterling.
The fight was the co-main event on the card, which took place in Abu Dhabi. Many thought the matchup was extremely competitive on paper, with it being It Dillashaw's elite striking versus the relentless wrestling of 'Funk Master'.
Unfortunately, the fight did not live up to the hype. The challenger dislocated his shoulder early in the first round. From that moment onwards, Dillashaw was fighting an uphill battle against the merciless Sterling.
T.J. Dillashaw admitted in his post-fight interview that his shoulder had been dislocated over 20 times in training camp. This comment left many wondering why he didn't pull out of the fight.
While talking to Brett Okamoto of ESPN MMA, Dillashaw shed some light on why he stepped into the octagon with an injured shoulder:
"Because it was affecting me more in the striking aspect, it was something I was going to be able to deal with. I'm fighting Sterling, he's not a big threat on his feet. I felt it was best-case scenario for who I was going to fight. If I was fighting Petr Yan, I might have second-guessed going in there with a guy who was deadly, looking for that knockout."
Watch the interview below:
T.J. Dillashaw couldn't even lift his arm in training camp, says Cub Swanson
T.J. Dillashaw has been in the headlines following his defeat at UFC 280. That's after he revealed that he'd been dealing with a shoulder injury for months in the lead up to the fight.
In his post-fight interview, Dillashaw stated that his shoulder had popped out of the socket over 20 times during training camp.
"I gotta apologize to the weight class, kind of held it up. Completely blew my shoulder out at the end of April. Probably dislocated a good 20 times throughout training camp."
Watch the post-fight interview below:
His opponent, Aljamain Sterling, has insisted that Dillashaw's injury wasn't the only factor in the result. 'Funk Master' believes that he had some part to play in Dillshaw's shoulder popping out on fight night.
However, a training partner of Dillashaw has come out in defense of his claims. Cub Swanson wrote the following on Twitter:
"When I worked with TJ about 5-6 weeks before this fight he couldn’t even lift his left arm….it’s the truth"
See the tweet below:
@MMAJunkie When I worked with TJ about 5-6 weeks before this fight he couldn’t even lift his left arm….it’s the truth
Aljamain Sterling says he had a hand in T.J. Dillashaw's injury.
#UFC280 | Full story: bit.ly/3DpyPJ3 https://t.co/J6NPwLZi7e
T.J. Dillashaw will now have surgery to repair his shoulder, with an expected recovery time of nine months.