TJ Dillashaw’s return to the bantamweight title won’t involve current champ Aljamain Sterling. That’s if Dillashaw is to be believed when he says Sterling’s career is over thanks to the neck surgery the champ is undergoing.
Dillashaw, who was stripped of the bantamweight title when he was caught doping, told The MMA Hour that he doesn’t expect Aljamain Sterling to fight ever again.
Dillashaw Doubts Aljamain Sterling Will Ever Fight Again
“I don’t even know if Aljo’s ever going to come back to be honest. From what he had done, it’s kind of crazy. If I was him, I would have waited to get that done. My coaches, my strength and conditioning coach as well as my wrestling coach, sells the medical equipment that did his neck, don’t believe he’s ever going to come back.”
TJ Dillashaw thinks the current champ – who won his belt via a DQ win against Petr Yan – will simply hang on to the bantamweight strap for as long as possible without actually setting foot inside the Octagon.
“I think he’s just holding onto this belt as long as he can. I’ve had that feeling already so when he pulled out of the fight, I wasn’t surprised. I bet he’s dealing with nerve damage. I bet he’s dealing with a lot of stuff. You go get your neck cranked on with what he’s had done, it’s definitely not good. We’ll see. I could be completely wrong but I don’t know if he’s ever going to come back.”
In fact, Dillashaw had a firm belief that undergoing this surgery at this time was the wrong move for Sterling. According to TJ Dillashaw, Aljamain Sterling should have taken the championship purse and fought with his injured neck.
“You’re on top of the world. You’re champion. Yeah, you won it the way you did but now you’re going to start getting paid like a champion. You’re going to have these big fights. Take advantage of them while you can. Don’t go out and get this neck surgery.
I understand he’s got the problem, he has the injuries. I was dealing with two blown out shoulders when I was the champion but I wasn’t willing to sit out for a year cause I had big paydays.”
Sterling pulled out of a rematch against Petr Yan due to this ongoing neck issue, and Cory Sandhagen – whose last fight was a controversial decision loss to TJ Dillashaw – stepped up. Yan and Sandhagen will compete for the interim title on October 30, and TJ Dillashaw is widely expected to fight the winner of said fight in future.
Do you think we’ve seen the last of Aljamain Sterling? Let us know in the comments.
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