Aljamain Sterling, TJ Dillashaw Get Into War Of Words Ahead Of UFC 280

Reigning UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling expectedly has a bone to pick with UFC 280 opponent TJ Dillashaw and he said as much during media day.

Sterling did not hold back from his criticisms of Dillashaw during his time on the podium as he repeatedly targeted the former titleholder's past usage of performance-enhancing drugs (PED) throughout, even going so far as to nickname him as "Mr. Needleshaw."

"'Mr. Needleshaw,' he's been doing it for a while. I don't think he stopped, but regardless, I am content with knowing I'm gonna get in there with him," Sterling said.

"I just gotta go out there, do my job, handle my business, and go from there. I'm not looking past TJ right now. I need to get past this guy. I need to skin the snake and just shut this guy up for good."

Dillashaw's then-glistening career has been overshadowed by him getting flagged by the New York State Athletic Commission (NYSAC) following his fight with Henry Cejudo in January 2019.

On April 9, the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) handed the former bantamweight king a two-year suspension after testing positive for recombinant human erythropoietin (EPO), which Dillashaw used to combat his anemia after dropping down in weight for the Cejudo fight.

EPO, for those not in the know, is a hormonal substance that stimulates the bone marrow to produce more red blood cells, which increases oxygen supply to the blood and allows the athlete to have seemingly unending stamina.

Since his suspension, Dillashaw has been hard at work to rehabilitate his image and won a chance to fight for the title again after defeating Cory Sandhagen in his return fight in July 2021.

During the recently-concluded UFC 280 pre-fight press conference, Dillashaw decided that it was time to just embrace the criticisms being lobbied against him.

"Look, I've come to terms with it. It's time now. You're going to get your ass whooped by a cheater, [expletive]. He's so worried he can come to test me himself," Dillashaw boldly declared.

A convincing victory over Sterling will somewhat help rehabilitate his image since many believe Sterling does not deserve the title after winning it by disqualification against Petr Yan, despite MMA fans being largely intolerant of proven cheaters in the sport.

With both men having so much on the line and a ton of words said ahead of UFC 280, a barn-burner of a strikefest is expected to take place and anything short of a finish is going to be a disappointment in the eyes of some viewers.