Aljamain Sterling isn’t shopping for that T.J. Dillashaw is on the straight and slender.
In October, Sterling places his bantamweight title on the road in opposition to Dillashaw within the co-main occasion of UFC 280 — and although the bout continues to be over two months away, the trash discuss has already began between the 2 rivals. After the combat was introduced, Dillashaw got here out and advised MMA Combating that Sterling “is not a dangerous fighter” and that Sterling largely tries to make fights “a snoozefest.” On Wednesday, Sterling responded to Dillashaw’s feedback, saying that he’s compensating for his personal insecurities.
“The athletes are those taking on the game, proper? So he can say no matter it’s that he desires to say, I’m going to be smarter in there, I’m going to be sooner in there, I’m going to be stronger than him in there, I’m going to be the larger man in there, and we’ll see who’s probably the most harmful man within the division,” Sterling stated on The MMA Hour.
“That is the division everyone seems to be saying is likely one of the hardest, and I’m on the prime — and also you’re saying I’m not that harmful? What does that say about everybody else? To me, it’s all discuss. I believe he’s simply received to inform himself one thing to make himself really feel good, and if that’s his approach of doing it — to s*** on any individual else — I assume kudos to you. However I do know what I’m getting into there to do, and we’ll see what occurs on Oct. 22.”
Sterling didn’t cease there although.
“The Funk Grasp” went in on Dillashaw for his previous steroid utilization, saying that too was an indication of weak spot. He then advised that Dillashaw continues to be dishonest the system.
“When he’s speaking about all these items, I’m like, dude, you have been on the identical s*** that [Renan Barao] was on. No matter it was, even when it wasn’t the identical actual factor, you have been positively on one thing,” Sterling stated. “Your teammates outed you years in the past. There’s been rumors, even earlier than that press convention occurred with him and Cody Garbrandt, there have been rumors occurring for the longest. However what am I going to do? Sit right here and b**** and moan and say, ‘Oh, I hear he’s dishonest, let me go snitch on him?’ Your folks advised on you. If that’s what it’s essential to do to get by and really feel higher at night time, I believe there’s some sort of challenge there and he could be a little bit bit unconfident in his personal ability set, that he feels the necessity to do one thing like that with the intention to get some sort of edge.
“Isn’t it fascinating he received 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 in which that it did. And he got here again and took these monster pictures from Cory Sandhagen — hmm, I don’t know, my man. I don’t know. I do know you can also make the argument, ‘Oh, he lower an excessive amount of weight, the mind fluids.’ Miss me with that s***. The man’s nonetheless dishonest. He’s nonetheless discovering methods to cheat. As soon as a cheater, at all times a cheater. And it’s simply going to be good to beat a man like that, get a pleasant feather in my cap, and to say that I did it the suitable approach, and he’s a p****.”
Dillashaw was suspended by USADA for 2 years after failing drug exams for EPO previous to his flyweight combat with Henry Cejudo in 2019. He returned to combating in 2021, successful a cut up determination over Cory Sandhagen to earn this bantamweight title shot.
Dillashaw has adamantly maintained that he by no means took any banned substances for his bantamweight bouts, even explaining that USADA went back and tested his old samples, but the accusation stays. However Sterling appears to haven’t any intention of giving Dillashaw the advantage of the doubt.
“I’m very detached about T.J., and the primary factor is the man is a dishonest little weasel that’s been doing this for years,” Sterling stated. “On one facet of the coin, I respect him as a result of even in case you are dishonest, you continue to must have some sort of labor ethic and drive and motivation to rise up within the morning and put within the work and nonetheless have the method to win these fights. So kudos to you — you get a hand clap.
“However the second facet of it, you’ve finished it the soiled approach. You didn’t actually do it by yourself benefit and your personal blood, sweat, and tears form of factor. So I’m a little bit aggravated by that, and I get a possibility to combat one other man who is taken into account one of many biggest of all-time on this division. So to beat a man like that, I believe it’s an enormous feather in my cap.
“Hopefully I get to strangle him,” Sterling continued. “That may be the best state of affairs as a result of it could be a candy victory within the sense of, ‘Oh, he’s not a harmful fighter.’ OK, Let’s see how not harmful I’m. Final time I checked, you bought your face punched in by Cory Sandhagen. That didn’t occur to me. … I’m not attempting to do MMA math, however I like my odds on this one. T.J. works exhausting, however you’re going to have a canine in entrance of you that’s going to work simply as exhausting, if not more durable.”
UFC 280 takes place on Oct. 22 on the Etihad Area in Abu Dhabi.
