Aljamain Sterling didn’t quite agree with Dana White’s recent comments praising his upcoming opponent, T.J. Dillashaw, this weekend at UFC 280 (Sat., Oct. 22, 2022).
During fight week, White did his general media rounds and spoke about the Bantamweight title match up. Specifically touching on the now-permanent steroid stigma that’s following Dillashaw post-suspension, White said he feels Dillashaw handled everything “like a man.”
Responding to the sentiment at UFC 280’s media day today (Weds., Oct. 19, 2022), Sterling was in disbelief.
“Very strange, man,” Sterling said. “Dana’s an interesting cat. I like Dana a lot, but some of the things I just have to wonder his reasoning and rationale. Like, you’re praising a guy who got caught and saying he did it the right way and did it like a man. What about that was manly? The guy got caught. He didn’t come clean, Dana. I’m just — I don’t get it. I think it’s a very odd thing to say.”
Dillashaw’s Jan. 2019 United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) test suspension came on the heels of a quick 32-second knockout loss to Henry Cejudo at Flyweight. Stripped of his title, Dillashaw served his time before returning in June 2021, defeating Cory Sandhagen via split decision.
Heading into the bout upcoming title bout, Sterling still feels his challenger is finding ways around the system.
“There have been so many people who have popped and a lot of ‘em have been like real legitimate tainted stuff and I don’t get it,” Sterling said. “What makes this situation more like a man versus anybody else? I really don’t understand.
“Unless you got caught redhanded and you know you cheated, having the needle in your hand knowing you’re about to do it and you’re like, ‘No, I didn’t.’ That’s different,” he concluded. “But saying he’s more of a man, it’s a very weird and odd thing to say.”
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