Demetrious Johnson has made his pick for the upcoming bantamweight title showdown between Aljamain Sterling and T.J. Dillashaw. Speaking to The Schmo, ‘Mighty Mouse’ chose ‘Funk Master’ to emerge victorious when he puts his title on the line against Dillashaw at UFC 280 next Saturday.
Johnson acknowledged that Dillashaw has more experience. However, he believes that Sterling will have an edge in this matchup thanks to his size and skillset:
“I look at T.J. Dillashaw and he’s gone through a lot of wars… I feel like, Aljamain Sterling, he’s coming through his own right now. He seems healthy, he seems big, he seems to embrace being a backpack. He knows what he’s good at, right? He looked really good when he fought Petr Yan.”
Johnson added that Sterling’s understanding of his strengths makes him “more dangerous”:
“The biggest thing is I give the edge to Aljamain Sterling. The only reason why is because I feel like when I look at him, he seems healthy, he seems happy, he’s embracing this backpack role. And when you see an athlete embracing a certain role, it makes them more dangerous.”
Watch Demetrious Johnson give his prediction for Sterling vs. Dillashaw (4:54) below:
T.J. Dillashaw responds to Aljamain Sterling’s PED accusations
Aljamain Sterling will be looking to make a second defense of his bantamweight crown when he takes on T.J. Dillashaw in the UFC 280 co-headliner in Abu Dhabi.
The champion has been quite vocal about Dillashaw’s previous issues with USADA and has even claimed that the former titleholder is still using banned substances.
During a recent appearance on ESPN MMA’s DC & RC, Dillashaw responded to Sterling’s accusations, suggesting that the champion is playing mind games and already building excuses should he lose the fight:
“I don’t hold a grudge or nothing. I feel he’s [Sterling] got to build something up. I think he’s already building excuses of why I’m going to beat him and trying to play a mental warfare, but it ain’t gonna work with me.”
Watch T.J. Dillashaw respond to Aljamain Sterling’s claims (23:38) below:
T.J. Dillashaw failed a drug test when he attempted to capture UFC flyweight gold against then-champion Henry Cejudo back in 2019, resulting in a two-year suspension from USADA. He lost his bantamweight title due to the suspension.
The TUF alum returned to the octagon with a win over Cory Sandhagen and will have a chance to become a three-time UFC champion at next week’s pay-per-view.