Aljamain Sterling Predicts That TJ Dillashaw Is Looking For A Way To “Get An Edge Once Again” Through Illegal Substances

UFC Bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling does not believes that his opponent TJ Dillashaw has put his doping days behind him.

Aljamain Sterling
Aljamain Sterling on Instagram

UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling has made peace with the fact that his opponent might be doping. 

There is a UFC bantamweight title fight coming up between the champ Aljamain Sterling and former champion TJ Dillashaw. This matchup is pitting one of the greats against the greatest right now and the one who walks away will have both the UFC belt and bragging right. For years, Dillashaw was considered one of the best fighters in the UFC. He has held the bantamweight title and was trying to become a duel champion by picking up the flyweight title as well. That all came to a crashing halt when Dillashaw tested positive for a banned substance. 

In 2019 after failing to defeat flyweight champion Henry Cejudo, it was revealed that Dillashaw failed a drug test in the lead-up to that fight. He relinquished his bantamweight title and served a two-year suspension for testing positive for EPO, a performance-enhancing drug. Dillashaw admitted to taking the substance and apologized publically. He returned to the Octagon in May of 2021 and returned to his winning ways. Now he is in line for a title shot once again against Sterling, but the champ is not so easily convinced that his opponent is coming in clean. 

“If I had to make a prediction, I would say there’s definitely no doubt in my mind that that guy is finding some type of doctor or little micro dosing or whatever. However, that sh-t works, I guarantee you, he’s finding some type of way to get an edge once again, as he’s done his entire UFC career,” Sterling said on the Submission Radio Podcast.

Dillashaw was continuously tested by The U.S Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) throughout his suspension and return. According to the USADA website, Dillashaw was randomly tested nine times this year alone. Despite this fact, Sterling is yet to be convinced that Dillashaw or anyone else he fights is not bending the rules a bit. 

“So yeah, we got USADA, but USADA didn’t catch TJ, New York State Athletic Commission caught TJ because it’s too expensive to test for EPO, as they say,” he said. “So I think my way of viewing TJ, he’s good, but he’s never done anything honest. He’s one of the greatest of all time in the bantamweight division. I mean, that’s fact, just based on the number of wins that he’s had him winning the belt. But I know firsthand that he has not done that the clean way. Like you should. I don’t want to say like most of us, because I know most of you motherfu–ers out there cheating anyway, too.”

Sterling mentioned that he has made peace with the fact that people he faces in the Octagon could be on PEDs. He is more worried about himself and doing things the right way in his life and training camp. This will be the second title defense for Sterling, who last defeated Petr Yan by split decision in April. This bantamweight title fight between Sterling and Dillashaw will go down on Oct. 22 at UFC 280 in Abu Dhabi.

Watch the entire interview here:

Published on October 3, 2022 at 10:26 am
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