"Your teammates outed you years ago" - Aljamain Sterling discusses whether T.J. Dillashaw's fights before suspension hold actual credibility
Aljamain Sterling has jibed at upcoming opponent T.J. Dillashaw's usage of performance-enhancing drugs in the past. Back in 2019, the former bantamweight champion was suspended for two years by USADA after testing positive for recombinant human erythropoietin (EPO).
Here’s the full USADA press release on TJ Dillashaw’s two-year suspension for EPO. Dillashaw isn’t contesting it. He is eligible to return on Jan. 19, 2021. https://t.co/bYcQY3sdMq
Dillashaw himself admitted to having used the banned drug ahead of his fight with Henry Cejudo back in January 2019. However, he has always maintained that he never used PEDs for any of his previous fights apart from the one with Cejudo. Sterling, however, has doubts that's true.
According to 'Funk Master,' Dillashaw was certainly "on something" even prior to the Cejudo fight. He pointed out that Dillashaw's former teammates also "outed" him with regard to his usage of banned drugs much before the fight with Cejudo took place, insinuating that he's used them for other fights too.
During a recent appearance on Ariel Helwani's The MMA Hour podcast, Sterling said:
"Whatever it was, you were on something. Even if it wasn't the same exact thing, you were definitely on something. Your teammates outed you years ago. There's been rumors even before that first press conference happened with him and Cody Garbrandt. There were rumors going on for the longest..."
Watch the full interview below:
Aljamain Sterling doubts whether T.J. Dillashaw's chin will hold up in their upcoming fight
Aljamain Sterling doubts whether T.J. Dillashaw will still have a strong chin heading into their upcoming bantamweight title clash at UFC 280. The reigning champion feels that Dillashaw has taken quite a few hefty blows in his last two fights against Cejudo and Cory Sandhagen, respectively.
Champion Aljamain Sterling will fight TJ Dillashaw at #UFC280 on October 22nd. (per @YahooSports) #UFC #MMA #UFCESPN #UFCAbuDhabi #CoMainEvent #BWChampionship https://t.co/SL2W9Gcm2T
While he was knocked out by 'Triple C', Dillashaw managed to escape with a win against Sandhagen after a back-and-forth war. Sterling believes that the shots he took during these two fights could have weakened Dillashaw's chin considerably and might factor in when they lock horns later this year.
Regardless of whether Dillashaw's chin holds up on the night, Sterling is confident about retaining the title at UFC 280. 'Funk Master' said:
"He got knocked out by Henry Cejudo with a toe. It wasn't the shin, it wasn't the foot, it was the toe that knocked him down and wobbled him the way that it did. Then he came back and he took those monster shots from Cory Sandhagen... I don't know, my man..."