"Why can't we just say he's the rightful champion?" - Chael Sonnen wants T.J. Dillashaw to explain why he considers Aljamain Sterling to be an "easy" fight 

Chael Sonnen recently shared his take on T.J. Dillashaw calling Aljamain Sterling an easy fight for him.

Sterling might defend his bantamweight title next against Dillashaw. However, Sonnen is not on board with the idea that 'Funk Master' is an easy opponent for the former champion. Here's what 'The Bad Guy' stated in a recent video uploaded to his YouTube channel:

"T.J. versus Sterling. What do you guys think? T.J. did an interview on this and he said 'Sterling's a easy fight for me. He's not championship caliber.' Now he didn't go into detail. But I wish that he would. He didn't put Sterling down, he didn't say Sterling wasn't a good fighter. He said it's an easy fight for me."

Dillashaw recently claimed that Sterling is not a championship quality fighter. However, Sonnen disagrees with that.

He believes the 135lbs division is one of the most stacked in the UFC at the moment. To add to that, the weight class has the most former champions in its ranks.

The former multi-time UFC title challenger explained that fans should be looking forward to the exciting matchups that can be made next. Rising stars like Sean O'Malley and Ricky Simon and veterans like Jose Aldo and Dominick Cruz are all exceptional fighters. Hence, Sonnen feels it's time to give 'Funk Master' the credit for being the champion in such a division rather than bashing him:

"We're taking away from the champion of a division with the most depth in any within the sport. That's a hard sell to me. Why can't we just say Sterling's a really good fighter? Why can't we just say he's the rightful champion?"

Watch Chael Sonnen talk about Aljamain Sterling vs. T.J. Dillashaw:

---

Who's next for Aljamain Sterling in the UFC?

While Dillashaw and Sterling have traded verbal jabs on social media, whether the former champion has recovered from his injury completely is not clear.

Henry Cejudo has also been calling out 'Funk Master' for a while now. The former two-division champion is contemplating a return to fighting. 'Triple C' retired after his UFC 249 win over Dominick Cruz.

Jose Aldo is also keen on getting another shot at the bantamweight title. Furthermore, despite his loss, Petr Yan is right in the mix to get another crack at Aljamain Sterling if he wins his next fight. Overall, there are a handful of options available for the champion when he eventually makes his octagon return.