TJ Dillashaw shares his thoughts on a potential “easy fight” with Aljamain Sterling: “He’s definitely not champion caliber”

TJ Dillashaw has shared his thoughts on a potential ‘easy fight’ with Aljamain Sterling.

Dillashaw (18-4 MMA) most recently defeated Cory Sandhagen (14-4 MMA) back in July of 2021.

‘Killashaw’ is now expected to challenge Aljamain Sterling (21-3 MMA) in his next Octagon appearance.

Sterling is coming off a win against Petr Yan (16-3 MMA) at UFC 273 back on April 9th. It was the second time the two had met, the 1st encounter resulted in Yan getting disqualified with an illegal knee at UFC 259 in March of 2021. The bantamweight belt belongs to ‘The Funkmaster’.

In speaking with ‘ESPN‘, TJ Dillashaw had this to say about Sterling:

“I’m not too worried about Sterling. That callout, it’s a pretty easy fight for me to be honest.”

Continuing Dillashaw said (h/t MMAJunkie):

“I think it’s gonna be real good. I mean, congratulations to him, implementing his game plan in the fight. He showed some weaknesses in Yan, but stylistically that fight is perfect for me, so he can say anything he wants, but he ain’t gonna be champion for much longer.”

“He’s good, don’t get me wrong. He’s got some attributes. He wouldn’t be where he is without being good, but he’s definitely not champion caliber. The guys that I’ve fought already in the past (are) much better than he is, a lot more dangerous. There’s no danger fighting Sterling. Has he ever even knocked anyone out?”

“I don’t know. I didn’t even look at his record. It’s a guy that you don’t have to be worried about. There’s no way he’s gonna be out-grappling me. His striking is straight pathetic, so yeah, I’m surprised that he is where he is, and stylistically it’s a great fight for me.”

Concluding TJ Dillashaw said about Aljamain Sterling:

“He’s scared. He’s not a true fighter. He’s scared to fight. He’s scared to throw down. There’s a lot of stuff that I could be picking apart, but ultimately it comes down to him just being scared to fight. He doesn’t pack a punch. He’s desperate for them takedowns, and they were ugly takedowns, but he’s able to continue that pressure to get them.”

“If we do turn this into a grappling match, I’ll show skills that haven’t been shown to their fullest yet, and I can easily dominate on the feet. I think that’s the fun thing is that I can take this fight anywhere. There’s not really any kind fight that I’m worried about … he’s not dangerous. That technique – he’s not gonna submit me, he’s not gonna be able to hold me down. I got better wrestling. D-1 wrestling compared to his Division III, it’s not gonna handle.”

Are you looking forward to a TJ Dillashaw vs Aljamain Sterling match-up? Do you agree with Dillashaw that it will be an ‘easy fight’?