T.J. Dillashaw thinks he has the advantage over UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling in wrestling.
Dillashaw (17-4 MMA, 13-4 UFC) challenges Sterling (21-3 MMA, 13-3 UFC) for the 135-pound title in the co-main event of UFC 280 on Oct. 22 in Abu Dhabi. “The Funkmaster” has used his grappling to quickly submit Cory Sandhagen and put a stamp on his rivalry with Petr Yan, when he was able to control him on the mat for almost two full rounds in their title-fight rematch at UFC 273. But Dillashaw, a former Division I wrestler, is confident with how his wrestling stacks up against Division III wrestler Sterling.
“I think this matchup is great for me,” Dillashaw said on ESPN’s “DC & RC.” “The style that I have to be able to fight, I mean, I’m so well rounded, I’m actually the better wrestler. I wasn’t really impressed with his shots to get those takedowns. He had to take 22 of them to get two, so those odds aren’t that great, but he was so desperate and persistent in getting them that it helped out for him. But to be honest, I’m not feeling the threat. I’m gonna get out there and do what I do best and show him what D-1 wrestling is all about.”
Dillashaw will look to reclaim the bantamweight title for a third time. He was stripped off his belt when he tested positive for recombinant human erythropoietin (rHuEPO) after his flyweight title loss to Henry Cejudo in January 2019, resulting in a two-year suspension.
“When I’m champ again, it’s gonna be great,” Dillashaw said. “I never left. I never lost my belt in this weight class. Yeah, I was stripped, but I never actually physically lost it and people forget. People forget how dominant I was, because I hadn’t been in there performing. I hold a lot of records in the bantamweight division and just because of the time off, they forget. So I’m about to remind them all who the best is, who the best pound-for-pound is, and that 135-pound belt, I’m coming for it.”
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