"What would've changed?"- Aljamain Sterling argues that T.J. Dillashaw's injured shoulder didn't affect the outcome of their fight 

Following Aljamain Sterling's win against T.J. Dillashaw at UFC 280 last weekend, he was forced to defend himself after a select group of fans insisted it was his opponent's injury that gifted him the victory.

'Funk Master' set out to prove the doubters wrong in the co-main event of UFC 280, but despite being dominant, his opponent suffered a dislocated shoulder early into the first round. While the injury was a big factor in the outcome, credit must go to the champion for not letting up and earning a second-round TKO win.

Addressing the situation to his fans on YouTube, Aljamain Sterling insisted that nothing would have changed even if T.J. Dillashaw came into the fight at one hundred percent.

"My brother, you threw a kick, I caught the kick, and your D1 level wrestling, which your coaches would have taught you, 'Never turn away from your opponent.' You always attack the hands, fight the hands and get your legs back on the ground. You decide to throw a punch, you decide to turn your back, I run you down to the mat, you posted your arm, your shoulder came out the socket, this is 30 seconds into the fight. I got you in a position that was super tight and locked up... What would have changed? Literally nothing would have changed."

Despite arguably solidying himself as the rightful bantamweight king, many still believe he has to prove his worth inside the octagon. The two controversial fights with Petr Yan alongside his win over Dillashaw have fans questioning whether he is the best 135lber in the world, or has just had things go in his favor.

Check out what Aljamain Sterling had to say regarding his most recent title fight in the video below.

---

Aljamain Sterling's dilemma following UFC 280

Now, more than ever, Aljamain Sterling is determined to silence those who don't believe in him and has his chance to do so when he puts his bantamweight strap on the line next.

If Dana White abides by his words, the 33-year-old will stand across the octagon from the returning former two-division world champion Henry Cejudo for his next outing.

But, if Sterling gets pitted against the #1-ranked fighter in the weight class, he may run into more criticism. Sean O'Malley is a highly-respected striker, but is thought by many to have a huge hole in his grappling game. This coincidentally is the NCAA Division III wrestler's strong point.