"He couldn't even lift his left arm" - Cub Swanson confirms timeline of T.J. Dillashaw's persistent shoulder injury 

Aljamain Sterling comfortably won his second title defense against T.J. Dillashaw at UFC 280. The challenger's injured shoulder played a big part in the win as it was near impossible for the former champion to put up a fight.

Dillashaw's shoulder popped out in the first round. After a remarkable show of resilience, his team popped the shoulder back in ahead of the second frame. However, Sterling took full advantage of the injury and made quick work of his opponent to win via TKO.

'Funk Master' later spoke about Dillashaw's claim that his shoulder injury was a recurring problem throughout his training camp. The bantamweight champion claimed that he had a part in the injury on the night.

During the post-fight press conference, Sterling said:

"For him to go out and do that kind of shows his personality. For a guy who needs to do PEDs - they have a chink in the armor. For this guy to lose and the first thing he went for was that, I'm like, 'So you're going to make it seem like your shoulder just came out by itself, brother?' I'd like to think I had something to do with that."

Catch Sterling's full interview below:

UFC featherweight veteran Cub Swanson responded in his teammate's defense. He replied to MMA Junkie's post on Twitter, which shared Sterling's quote, and confirmed that T.J. Dillashaw was suffering with the shoulder injury during his training camp.

Swanson wrote:

"When I worked with TJ about 5-6 weeks before this fight he couldn’t even lift his left arm….it’s the truth"

Check out his tweet below:

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Aljamain Sterling hits back at fans attributing his win over T.J. Dillashaw to luck

The circumstances of Aljamain Sterling's victory over T.J. Dillashaw prompted many fans to term the win 'lucky'. Many believed that a fully fit Dillashaw would offer more of a challenge and avoid Sterling running right through him with such ease.

The bantamweight champion took to Twitter and hit back at his detractors. He made reference to the grapplers from Dagestan who have dominated in the promotion in recent times. He claimed to be just as good, but suggested that he doesn't receive the same acclaim:

"I’ve grown use to it. They must think my grappling-use is somehow not dominant and it’s luck because I’m not from the mountains? Like I can’t be 'that good'? But even my mountain colleagues, respectfully, see and know my grappling is a problem for everybody."

Aljamain Sterling's grappling was on full display in his UFC 280 win against T.J. Dillashaw. It allowed him to inflict further damage on Dillashaw's injured shoulder and coast through the bout.

Check out his tweet below: