"It’s luck because I’m not from the mountains?" - Aljamain Sterling addresses fans saying he lucked out because of T.J. Dillashaw's injured shoulder
Aljamain Sterling successfully completed a second title defense at UFC 280. He dominated former two-time champion T.J. Dillashaw and extended his reign and record-breaking win streak.
Dillashaw offered little to no resistance in the co-main event, as his already injured shoulder gave way in the first round. With Dillashaw's shoulder dislocated, Sterling capitalized and took the fight to the ground, rendering the challenger largely defenseless.
Although Dillashaw's coach was able to pop his shoulder back in between rounds, it was an insurmountable challenge as Sterling won in the second round via TKO following another dislocation.
The circumstances of Sterling's win prompted many to attribute his victory to 'luck' and advocated that a healthier Dillashaw would not have lost as meekly. The bantamweight champion took to Twitter to dismiss his detractors.
He quoted a fan who tweeted in his defense, writing:
"I’ve grown use to it. They must think my grappling-use is somehow not dominant and it’s luck because I’m not from the mountains? Like I can’t be 'that good'? But even my mountain colleagues, respectfully, see and know my grappling is a problem for everybody."
'Funk Master' was seemingly referring to the widely-acclaimed grapplers that come from Dagestan. He claimed to be just as good, but without the background narrative to back it.
Check out his tweet below:
I’ve grown use to it. They must think my grappling-use is somehow not dominant and it’s luck because I’m not from the mountains? Like I can’t be “that good”?
But even my mountain colleagues, respectfully, see and know my grappling is a problem for everybody. twitter.com/fightoracle/st…
Dana White suggests Henry Cejudo as Aljamain Sterling's next opponent
Aljamain Sterling has now firmly cemented himself as the top bantamweight, having fended off two challengers. He is also on the longest win streak in bantamweight history, with eight straight victories.
In terms of his next opponent, there is no shortage of challengers in the division. However, Dana White named someone who is not currently part of the weight class when questioned about Aljamain Sterling's next fight.
The UFC president said during the UFC 280 post-fight press conference:
“What about Henry Cejudo? That work? You like that? You know, Henry’s been out there talking and he wants to come back and he wants to, you know, and I think ... how long has he been back in the USADA pool? Anyone know how long he’s been back in the USADA pool? Six months? Yeah, so you know, he could fight. So maybe you do him and Aljamain Sterling next.”
Watch Dana White's full press conference appearance below:
Reports of a Henry Cejudo return have circulated for a while now, with his manager also adding fuel to the fire. Ali Abdelaziz took to Twitter to remind Dana White and UFC fans that the former double champion never lost either of his flyweight or bantamweight belts.
@HenryCejudo he is the current bantamweight champion of the world and flyweight champion never lost his belt beat Dominick Cruz, TJ, Dillashaw, Demetrious Johnson nobody ever did that @espn @danawhite