UFC 280: TJ Dillashaw targets GOAT status against Aljamain Sterling

TJ Dillashaw has suggested that he will become the bantamweight GOAT if he can defeat Aljamain Sterling at UFC 280.

They say that controversy creates cash and if that’s true, 36-year-old TJ Dillashaw is going to do a lot of great things for the UFC as he enters the twilight of his mixed martial arts career.

The former two-time UFC bantamweight champion will return to action next weekend at UFC 280 when he meets Aljamain Sterling in the co-main event at the Etihad Arena.

It’s been a long road to get back to a title shot for Dillashaw and whether you love him or hate him, nobody can deny that he’s must-see TV whenever he gets in that Octagon.

Read more: UFC 280: Date, Fight Card, Location, Tickets and more

The veteran has often acknowledged many of his mistakes in the past but one thing he’s never lost sight of is his potential.

At one point there was an argument to be made that he was one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the sport, which just proves how valued he was as a commodity in the UFC.

Now, ahead of his return to the cage, TJ has made his intentions perfectly clear.

“When I’m champ again it’s going to be great,” Dillashaw said. “I never left. I never lost my belt in this weight class. Yeah, I was stripped, but I never actually physically lost it. People forget how dominant I was because I hadn’t been in there. I hadn’t been performing. I hold a lot of records in the bantamweight division and just because of the time off, they forget.

“So I’m going to have to remind them all who the best is, who the best pound-for-pound is, and that 135-pound GOAT, I’m coming for it.”

“It’s super exciting to see what the weight class has done and how it’s evolved,” Dillashaw said. “It’s always been a super exciting weight