Despite their rocky relationship, Urijah Faber still thinks TJ Dillashaw deserves the next shot at the UFC bantamweight championship.
Recently, the UFC Hall Of Famer joined MMA Fighting’s Heck Of A Morning to offer his thoughts on the bantamweight division’s landscape. In regards to who will receive the next title opportunity against Aljamain Sterling, Faber explained why he thinks his former Team Alpha Male teammate should get the nod (h/t BJPenn.com)
“Man, that’s a great question,” Urijah Faber said. “Obviously, I would love to see [Dillashaw] vs. Aldo, but I would also like to see Aldo vs. ‘Aljo.’ I don’t think that T.J. needs to show that he’s not there yet, Cory Sandhagen could very easily be the champ, or a title contender himself.
“He’s an amazing fighter. They had a close fight and some people thought Sandhagen won. Right now, for relevancy, I think T.J. vs. ‘Aljo’ is the fight to make, and then Aldo gets the winner of that.
“I think a T.J. vs. Aldo fight would be huge as well, but you don’t have the hunk of metal on the line so it’s dulled down a little bit, and then Aldo lost to Petr Yan, so I think the story is still a T.J. vs. ‘Aljo’ fight, or an Aldo-’Aljo’ fight because Aldo is somebody that has taken that loss from Yan and it really lit a fire and he’s looked better than he ever has, so I’d like to see that, too.”
Dillashaw recently ended a two-year suspension for using performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs). In his return, the former 135-pound king topped Cory Sandhagen via split decision in July of last year. Now, Dillashaw is looking to reclaim the bantamweight title he never lost.
Of course, that would put him in a matchup against Sterling, who is currently on a seven-fight win streak. Sterling became the undisputed bantamweight champion with his unanimous decision win over Petr Yan in April.
A potential matchup between the pair would certainly be interesting. Dillashaw likely will have the advantage on the feet, while Sterling’s ground game has proven dominant over his current run.
Who do you think deserves the next nod at the UFC bantamweight title? And who are you picking in a potential fight between Dillashaw and Sterling? Sound off in the comments!
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