T.J. Dillashaw shares his thoughts on Petr Yan vs. Aljamain Sterling 2
T.J. Dillashaw didn't seem impressed with Petr Yan's performance against Aljamain Sterling in their title rematch at UFC 273.
In a recent interview with ESPN MMA's Brett Okamoto, the UFC bantamweight prospect discussed the recently concluded bantamweight title rematch. Dillashaw stated that he was rooting for Yan to win the title, citing the Russian fighter's performance against 'Funk Master' in their previous fight.
"I think most of us thought Yan was going to win that fight. You know, the way that first fight went down and how he defended his shots and ended up manhandling him towards the end of the fight. And I think that was Yan's game plan once again. But those two takedowns that he got out of 22, he gave up his back, you know."
Despite Dillashaw's disappointment with 'No Mercy's shortcomings, the former two-time UFC bantamweight champion said:
"I was very surprised with the lack of knowledge that Yan had, in that position... going the wrong way on the body triangle and the chokes, not fighting it the right way, I mean... you can't have holes in your back and call yourself a mess."
Check out the full interview with Dillashaw below:
In the co-main event of UFC 273, Aljamain Sterling surprised everyone by successfully defending his title against Petr Yan, who is widely regarded as the division's uncrowned champion.
'Funk Master' earned a split decision victory against 'No Mercy' at the end of the five-round fight.
Check out the scorecard of the match below:
Scorecards for Aljamain Sterling vs. Petr Yan. First round was the decider, two judges gave R1 to Sterling #UFC273 https://t.co/Iuo3nYE14X
Aljamain Sterling more interested in defending his title against T.J. Dillashaw than Henry Cejudo
Aljamain Sterling has accepted Henry Cejudo's challenge for a title match. However, the bantamweight champion has stated that he would prefer to fight former division champion T.J. Dillashaw than 'Triple C'.
Appearing on a recent episode of ESPN MMA's DC & RC podcast, 'Funk Master' said:
"I do think if there was a three-headed horse between him, Jose Aldo and Henry Cejudo, I think T.J. is probably the fight that I would be more enticed by in the sense of what he has accomplished in the bantamweight division. So, for me, I think that's the fight that I want, [the] people want to see that fight."
Check out the entire episode of the podcast below: