The co-main event of UFC 280 flew under the radar a bit as Aljamain Sterling was making his second defense of his bantamweight title. Former champion TJ Dillashaw projected to be a really tough test, but unfortunately for us, he came into the fight severely compromised and was unable to put together a legitimate performance. That resulted in some general disappointment, but Aljo looked really good from what we got to see. This fight will probably be talked about more for it's implications in the pre-fight medical process than the actual ramifications of the result, but it is what it is. Let's just get right to it.
Like I said, there isn't much to say in terms of actual performance because Dillashaw's shoulder came out of socket very early on, but from what we did get to see, Aljo was looking pretty good. Not that it is a surprise, but he was looking huge and very strong. He caught a kick I believe and that is what led to the takedown attempt where Dillashaw injured his shoulder. I know it's all speculation, but with how quickly and easily Sterling were able to get the first takedown, it was setting up that he may have been in line for a lot of success. Obviously once Dillashaw was hurt, Aljo was able to do whatever he wanted. TJ was basically unable to get up and Aljo was posturing up and landing some bombs. He had him mounted and was on his back and the referee really could've stepped in at any moment. He got the takedown again in the second round and that was really the end of things. Dillashaw was unable to get up again and Goddard was forced to step in. Aljo retains his belt, but it feels like he is genuinely cursed at this point as all of his detractors have another reason to call him a paper champion as Dillashaw really had no business making the walk. Despite my issues with the character that he's taken on, especially over social media, since the Yan illegal knee, I'm not an Aljo hater. I'm still a fan of him as a fighter, but his social media presence is making me less and less of a fan. Hopefully if he or is team sees this, they can convince him to go back to the old Aljo, but none of that takes away from what he is doing in the cage. If Aljo didn't care as much as he says he does, then he wouldn't spend so much time responding to random twitter accounts, but that's all part of the genius according to him. In the interview he did on Monday's episode of the MMA Hour that I'm alluding to, he then turned to the tried and true argument that all fighters go to in that anyone who has even the slightest negative thing to say about them has never and will never accomplish anything in their lives. I know I shouldn't expect much from fighters in this regard, but it's just such a lazy argument that annoys me. If someone isn't a fighter who is in the gym for 8 hours a day, then they have no idea what hard work is because that is obviously the only way someone could work hard or experience adversity. All of the people who dedicate years of their lives to get a doctorate or even a bachelor's degree to work a normal job haven't experienced hard work or difficult times because they've never went through a wrestling practice. That was a bit of a tangent, but I guess I shouldn't really expect much from someone who aligns themselves with Andrew Tate. Anyways, moving on.
The funkmaster will have a solid array of options when it comes to his next title defense. It's really set up in such a way where there are three real options. Those are Henry Cejudo, Chito Vera, and Sean O'Malley. I'm not really sure if there's one that stands out well above the others as they all have pros and cons. Just today, Ariel Helwani reported that the UFC wants to make the fight with Henry and that surprised me a bit. The UFC hasn't been all that receptive of Henry since he "retired" and the status of his comeback has always been a bit foggy. If these reports are true, then the fight is currently being targeted for February, which means Henry must already be in the USADA pool as well, which was a question mark surrounding his return. The biggest question I have with this fight is "why now?". I really don't see any reason that Dana is all the sudden really attracted to this fight when he could've made it seemingly at any time. He didn't make Volkanovski vs Cejudo when the situation seemed perfect, but instead they threw Korean Zombie into a title fight for no reason. Now when there are other clear contenders in O'Malley and Chito, Dana is all in on making this fight with Henry. I'm here for it, but it just doesn't really make sense. The other way to go is probably with the Sugar Show. Sean has been a huge draw and fan favorite for quite awhile now even without fighting opponents to help draw attention. He fights a very fan friendly style and his stoner persona and interest in video games and streaming has a lot of young fans behind him. The argument to put O'Malley in the fight is simply that he is the biggest pay day for everyone involved. Chito kind of seems like the third wheel here, but he is being down played a bit. Chito has a pretty massive fan base in his own right, but his appeal to those who aren't already invested is probably the lowest. Chito brings just as tough of a fight, but without all of the upside. That is why I think Aljo has shown the least interest. With O'Malley, the casual fan interest will be the highest and I think the general buzz would be extremely high just because Sean is finally getting the title shot. When it comes to Henry, there will be the buzz behind his return and Aljo would get a lot of respect with a win. Despite his King of Cringe title, Henry is one of the best champions our sport has ever seen and if Aljo were to beat him, that would be a huge name on his resume. In short, I think the risk is well worth the reward to fight both O'Malley and Henry. I think the recognition or reward may be less with Chito, so I think that's why his name is always mentioned third, at least for right now. It seems like Henry is the first choice though and I would be very interested in seeing him return.
The narrative surrounding TJ Dillashaw is mainly about how he was able to actually get to the fight. Before we get to that, I feel like I have to qualify it by saying how tough TJ clearly is. The guy had done enough to prove that before this fight, but coming into a fight that hurt only proves that he is extremely tough. However, I don't think that really counts for much. Yea, he's tough, he's a professional cage fighter, did anyone really think otherwise? In an effort to convince everyone of how much of a badass he is, TJ really robbed all parties involved here. If TJ just needed the paycheck after being away for so long, then that's fine. He has a family that he needs to take care of and I'm sure he got a huge payday for a title fight as a former two time champion, but that is really the only argument he has. My problem is that, at the end of the day, it shouldn't be his call to make. Someone has to be the adult in the room or the professional in the room. I understand that every fighter is banged up going into the fight, but this one just feels different to me. To go into a fight that severely compromised benefits nobody. It doesn't benefit him because now that is the lasting image we have in our heads of TJ Dillashaw. Now, for him to get another title shot, he's going to have to win maybe another 2, 3, or 4 fights because of how bad he looked here. If he pulls out, maybe he doesn't get put right back into a title fight, but he is only probably a win away. There's also the possibility that fighting with his shoulder in that condition does irreparable damage and now he's just done for good. He also robbed Aljo of a legitimate title defense, which I realize probably is pretty low on his list of priorities, but that doesn't mean it isn't true. I think more important is that it robbed the fans and the event. Even if he pulls out and Chito or someone has to jump in on a week notice, we all know that going in. Instead, we are expecting to see TJ and then we quickly realize that he is fighting with one arm and doesn't have a chance. At the end of the day, all of that stuff can be debated back and forth and each person can have a slightly different perspective. What I really want to know, as someone who is pursuing a career that is healthcare related, is how someone cleared TJ to fight. Cub Swanson is tweeting out that TJ couldn't lift his arm above his shoulder not too long ago. TJ has to tell Marc Goddard not to stop the fight because he knows he can put his arm back in before the fight even starts. That just isn't someone who is capable of competing. That isn't someone just toughing out bumps and bruises. I know Francis Ngannou had the torn ACL, but you can still function without that surgery. You can rehab enough that you can have somewhat normal function, just with decreased stability and Francis looked very capable. He was wrestling with that injury just fine. TJ had one arm that he couldn't even use. That isn't the same thing. At the end of the day, someone needed to take this out of the hands of the athlete. Someone on his team needed to be the adult in the room and have a tough conversation with him. Whether it is his coach, teammate, training partner, or even a family member. They should have pulled him aside and made it clear to him that he's doing more damage to his body and career than this one paycheck makes up for. If nothing else, the system for the doctor should have shown this. If the exam doesn't allow for someone to find out that TJ can't move his arm and is likely to dislocate it during the fight, then what is the point of even doing it. I don't know what the pre-fight exams entail exactly, but this feels like the kind of thing that should be caught very easily. It was just an unfortunate situation for everyone involved where no one benefitted at the end of the day.
Part of the reason this is so bad for TJ is because we don't know how to even talk about his future now. He looked old and beat up and it wasn't really clear what he even wants for his future. It seems likely that he's going to be out for awhile to recover from the injury or potentially another surgery. It's hard to say what his goals are for the rest of his career. As for right now, I would say any future matchups for him would come against someone who is from his own era. I think matchups with other older fighters would be the way to go, at least for now. Dominick Cruz and Pedro Munhoz would fit the bill for that. Obviously there is history with Cruz as well so, that fight pretty much makes itself if the timelines work out. There wouldn't be a ton of juice on the Munhoz fight but, I think that would be a good measuring stick for the both of them just to kind of see what they both have left in the tank. There is the Rob Font fight as well, but there's no juice behind that one either. I'm not really sure what Font is up to after the damage he took from Chito Vera, but I assume he's looking to get back on the schedule sometime in the first quarter of next year. That timeline doesn't seem likely to matchup with TJ's, but maybe the fight after that could work. I think there is a very real possibility that TJ is just done as well. This is one of the best and deepest divisions in MMA and he isn't going to jump right back into the title picture quickly. He's going to need at least two, probably closer to four wins if he wants another title shot. Given the state of his health and age, that just doesn't seem very likely right now. Maybe TJ just has another fight or two in him before he calls it quits, but maybe the prospect of another surgery plus rehab is just enough for TJ to call it a career now. Nothing would surprise me at this stage.
What did you guys think of the fight? Should TJ have pulled out? What do you want to see next for Aljamain Sterling? Leave any and all thoughts below. Thanks for reading and have a good one.
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