Former UFC bantamweight champion T.J. Dillashaw is still nursing his obliterated shoulder following his loss against Aljamain Sterling, but his confidence remains fully intact. In a recent interview with The MMA Hour, Dillashaw managed to diss both Cody Garbrandt and Sterling, despite the fact the Dillashaw only lost to Sterling a few weeks ago.
First of all, Dillashaw expressed that the notion of fighting fellow former champ and former teammate Cody Garbrandt would be little more than a waste of time.
Dillashaw: Cody Garbrandt “Won’t Even Be Worth My Effort”
“I don’t even look into it. That makes zero sense to me at all. How’s that guy even still in the UFC. He’s lost five of his last six fights. I’m fighting for world titles. It’s a reach. He’ll probably have two losses before I even come back. It won’t even be worth my effort.”
Dillashaw continued, blasting Aljamain Sterling for being “gifted the belt”. Sterling won the bantamweight title via disqualification when the defending champ, Petr Yan, delivered an illegal knee to a grounded Sterling’s head during their fight. Since then, however, Sterling has put together two consecutive title defenses, including the most recent victory over Dillashaw at UFC 280.
“I feel like he was gifted the belt to begin with, the way he handled it, and then got squeaked by with a win. Look man, he’s a great athlete, he’s on a great win streak, he’s gotten to the top, but I don’t think he’s the best champion we’ve got out there. I don’t think he’s the best in the division, especially in the division we have, and that was an opportunity I wasn’t going to let slip through my fingers, even though it did. But yes, my opinion does not changed.”
Dillashaw specifically cited Sterling’s teammate, Merab Dvalishvili, as a better prospect for UFC gold. “I think his teammate, Merab, beats him.
He does have some strengths. There’s guys at the top that he can beat because their grappling isn’t where it should be. So maybe I’m just thinking about it personally and how I match up against him, because he matches up great against some of the guys that won’t be able to deal with his wrestling.
So he could get some good wins and stay on top with the right matchups, but he’s not very dangerous. He’s not a guy that’s going to come and knock you out. He will try to dry-hump you to the best of his ability, for the most part.”
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