“Not feeling the threat” – TJ Dillashaw dismisses danger of Aljamain Sterling’s grappling ahead of UFC 280
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TJ Dillashaw (L), Aljamain Sterling (R)
TJ Dillashaw takes on Aljamain Sterling for the bantamweight title at UFC 280.
Regarding the bantamweights, there is a lack of unanimity over who the greatest bantamweight is. Some mention Dominick Cruz, who made the 135-pounders fashionable while some mention TJ Dillashaw, who just wiped away all the competition in his path.
Now, one fight after his comeback last year, Dillashaw fights for the title against Aljamain Sterling at UFC 280.
In what is definitely expected to be a high-stakes match-up; in Sterling, Dillashaw can expect a salient grappler. However, that isn’t much of a threat, according to the 36-year-old.
Speaking to Daniel Cormier and Ryan Clark, he said, “I’m actually the better wrestler. I wasn’t really impressed with his shots to get those takedowns. He had to take 22 of them to get two, so those odds aren’t that great, but he was so desperate and persistent in getting them that it helped out for him.”
He continued, “But to be honest, I’m not feeling the threat. I’m gonna get out there and do what I do best and show him what D-1 wrestling is all about.”
TJ Dillashaw sets aim at a third title reign by winning at UFC 280
To mark his comeback fight, TJ Dillashaw fought Cory Sandhagen last year, in which he emerged the winner over five rounds. That is, he fought on despite injuring himself.
Before serving his USADA suspension from 2019 to 2021, he had fought and defeated some of the absolute best talents in the division. The wins that stand out are over Cody Gabrandt (twice) and Renan Barao. Now, he wishes to recapture some of that glory and put a decisive pin on who the greatest bantamweight really is.
He said, “When I’m champ again, it’s gonna be great. I never left. I never lost my belt in this weight class. Yeah, I was stripped, but I never actually physically lost it and people forget. People forget how dominant I was, because I hadn’t been in there performing… So I’m about to remind them all who the best is, who the best pound-for-pound is, and that 135-pound belt, I’m coming for it.”
If TJ Dillashaw is indeed victorious over champion Aljamain Sterling, he will have to defend against a wealth of talent amongst the 135-pounders. With Petr Yan, Marlon Vera and Merab Dvalishvili in the top 5, and Sean O’Malley lurking just around the corner, Dillashaw will have his task cut out for him.
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Udayan Mukherjee
(382 Articles Published)