"You could have gotten a whole surgery and rehabbed for six weeks" - T.J. Dillashaw choosing to fight Aljamain Sterling with an injured shoulder at UFC 280 was "extraordinarily irresponsible," says Vanessa Demopoulos
UFC strawweight contender Vanessa Demopoulos weighed in on the recently concluded fight between Aljamain Sterling and T.J. Dillashaw in the co-main event of UFC 280.
Sterling dominated the fight right from the start and won by a second-round TKO to extend his undefeated record to eight fights. Although 'Funk Master' has proven his worth and substantiated his claim as the undisputed bantamweight champion, the Jamaican-American fighter is still subject to harsh criticism from the MMA community.
Fans have now cast aspersions on Sterling's performance by claiming that Dillashaw fought with an injured shoulder.
#UFC280TJ Dillashaw's corner popped his shoulder back into place! Wild! 😳 #UFC280
https://t.co/mmD3q4o91F
In an exclusive interview with James Lynch of Sportskeeda MMA, Vanessa Demopoulos spoke out against combat sports fans who continue to denigrate Sterling's achievements:
"Poor Aljamain who's like sitting here winning these fights and taking all the heat from the fans in the aftermath where they're trying to like discredit him for being a champion. Dude, like the man's putting in work, he's winning these fights fairly dominantly."
Demopolous further added that it was imprudent on Dillashaw's part to fight with an injured shoulder:
"If you [Dillashaw] knew back in April that you had an injury and you're fighting for a title in October...that is so far out. You could have gotten a whole surgery and rehabbed for six whole weeks and then continued on to an entire fight camp by the time October came around. It was extraordinarily irresponsible on T.J's part to even allow that to be an excuse."
Even UFC President Dana White has condemned Dillashaw for keeping the organization in the dark about the severe shoulder injury.
Watch our exclusive interview with Vanessa Demopoulos below:
Vanessa Demopoulos reveals details about UFC contract
Vanessa Demopoulos will return to the octagon at UFC Vegas 65 on November 19, 2022. The former LFA women's strawweight champion has signed a new contract with the UFC ahead of her fight with Maria Oliveira, which she confirmed in the aforementioned exclusive interview.
"I'm on a new contract now. I couldn't be more excited and grateful. Thankful for the UFC as a company to really invest in me and love me the way that they have. It has been cool."
Hailing from 'The Forest City', the American has already fought twice this year and won both fights. Her first-round submission win against Silvana Gomez Juarez at UFC 270 even earned her a Performance of the Night bonus.