"Maybe his confidence/arrogance..." - Michael Bisping explains whether money motivated T.J. Dillashaw to fight Aljamain Sterling at UFC 280 despite having serious shoulder injury 

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Michael Bisping doesn't believe T.J. Dillashaw stepping into the octagon at UFC 280 was entirely motivated by money, despite the fact the American was carrying a serious injury.

Aljamain Sterling successfully defended the bantamweight title when he TKO'd Dillashaw in the second round. Sterling dominated the fight from start to finish, however, it was evident that 'Lieutenant Dan' was struggling with an unknown issue after the first grappling exchange. Dillashaw revealed in his post-fight interview that he injured his shoulder back in April and has dislocated it over 20 times since.

𝗙𝗢𝗟𝗟𝗢𝗪 @𝗙𝗧𝗕𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗱𝟳

@FTBeard7

Aljamain Sterling TKOs TJ Dillashaw!

Dillashaw's tough, battling through the dislocated shoulder as long as he did.

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Aljamain Sterling TKOs TJ Dillashaw!

Dillashaw's tough, battling through the dislocated shoulder as long as he did. https://t.co/rbxiFZRPed

Reacting to UFC 280 on his YouTube channel, Michael Bisping responded to a fan who questioned Dillashaw for stepping into the octagon despite being injured. 'The Count' said:

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"Do I think that T.J. Dillashaw is desperate for money if he's willing to walk into the cage injured? The short answer is no... I don't think he went in there hurting for money, no doubt three years away from the sport with only 1 fight, yeah you want to get going and be active. Fighters are like that, we have confidence and think we can still win...I just think maybe his confidence/arrogance... got the better of him. He still thought he could get the job done."

Catch Bisping's video here:

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T.J. Dillashaw earned the respect of Aljamain Sterling for fighting through injury

Although there was a heated rivalry between the pair heading into UFC 280, Aljamain Sterling has stated that T.J. Dillashaw earned his respect for stepping into the octagon knowing he was at a disadvantage.

'Funk Master' looked at his best in Saturday's co-main event and refused to give Dillashaw even a second to recover. The champion pounced on him from the beginning, and it was obvious that Dillashaw was struggling with some pain due to the grimacing look on his face while trying to scramble with Sterling.

Following their bout, 'Aljo' took to Twitter and labeled his opponent a "warrior" for managing to last as long as he did:

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"Hats off to TJ to take that kind of punishment in those positions. Man's a warrior and a stud. I would never deny that. True competitor that will fight til the very end. A wrestlers mentality."

Aljamain Sterling

@funkmasterMMA

Hats off to TJ to take that kind of punishment in those positions. Man’s a warrior and a stud. I would never deny that. True competitor that will fight til the very end. A wrestlers mentality. twitter.com/stuedb/status/…

Stuart Browning

@StuEdB

My word! Big respect to @TJDillashaw for fighting with a dislocation. @funkmasterMMA did what he had to do and forced @marcgoddard_uk to step in, great work by Marc during that btw! #UFC280 @ufc

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My word! Big respect to @TJDillashaw for fighting with a dislocation. @funkmasterMMA did what he had to do and forced @marcgoddard_uk to step in, great work by Marc during that btw! #UFC280 @ufc

Hats off to TJ to take that kind of punishment in those positions. Man’s a warrior and a stud. I would never deny that. True competitor that will fight til the very end. A wrestlers mentality. twitter.com/stuedb/status/…

Dillashaw later apologized to the bantamweight division for not putting on a performance that was worthy of holding back the queue. The 36-year-old is now set to undergo shoulder surgery and it's unclear whether this was his final appearance in the UFC octagon.

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