UFC legend TJ Dillashaw called Aljamain Sterling’s striking ‘pure garbage’ years after their UFC 280 clash.
Former UFC bantamweight champions Aljamain Sterling and TJ Dillashaw are years removed from their title fight at UFC 280, but that hasn’t stopped the former rivals from reigniting their feud.
Sterling defeated Dillashaw by TKO in the UFC 280 co-main event to retain the bantamweight championship and push back the division’s former king. Dillashaw returned after suffering a nasty leg injury midway through his split decision win over Cory Sandhagen in 2021, which marked his comeback following a two-year USADA suspension.
Despite Sterling finishing Dillashaw with brutal ground-and-pound when they met in the Octagon, Dillashaw remains dismissive of Sterling’s striking prowess.
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Aljamain Sterling hits back at TJ Dillashaw’s recent comments about UFC 280 fight
During a recent appearance on the JAXXON Podcast, Dillashaw reflected on the loss to Sterling and gave a harsh assessment of his former rival.
“I was fighting a guy that I felt like I could still beat with the arm that I had,” Dillashaw said of Sterling.
“I felt like I could’ve knocked him out. Yeah, [with one arm].
“His striking is complete garbage.” (h/t BJPenn)
Sterling’s grappling, and not his striking, has been his fighting ‘bread and butter’ throughout his career. But Sterling has dramatically improved in recent years, particularly ahead of his showdown with Dillashaw at UFC 280.
After Dillashaw’s comments went viral, it didn’t take long for Sterling to take notice, as he responded in a recent post on X.
“Respect to TJ, but 3 extra arms wouldn’t change that fight outcome. I was bigger and BETTER,” Sterling replied.
“What’s appears as “garbage” isn’t the same until we step in there and you see firsthand how I beat so many guys.”
After one follower questioned Dillashaw’s ego, Sterling revealed the blind spot that the former titleholder entered the Octagon with at UFC 280.
“It’s clearly a meaningful win. He legitimately thought he’d win and thought he’d knock me out. Meaningful all the way. He just didn’t know he was out of his league. And that is the mistake he made,” Sterling said.
Dillashaw announced his retirement shortly after the loss to Sterling at UFC 280, after suffering a catastrophic shoulder injury in the matchup. While Dillashaw has teased a potential comeback in recent years, it’s unlikely the UFC legend will return to the Octagon due to his checkered medical history.
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Aljamain Sterling shares ‘honest answer’ on Sean O’Malley’s immediate title rematch
Sterling’s star teammate, Merab Dvalishvili, will face a familiar foe in Sean O’Malley at UFC 316 next month. It’s a rematch of their UFC 306 showdown in which Dvalishvili dethroned O’Malley by unanimous decision to capture the bantamweight title.
Many were critical of O’Malley’s immediate rematch against Dvalishvili, but Sterling surprisingly wasn’t one of them. While Sterling believes he deserved an immediate rematch against O’Malley at the end of his bantamweight title reign, he feels O’Malley’s star power warrants the UFC 316 booking.
In between O’Malley fights, Dvalishvili outpointed the previously unbeaten Umar Nurmagomedov at UFC 311 to retain the bantamweight title. O’Malley hasn’t fought since the first fight with Dvalishvili after getting surgery done on his hip.