Sterling: 'Maybe some truth' to Munhoz's failed drug test

Aljamain Sterling is calling out UFC 238 opponent Pedro Munhoz for his heated reaction to Sterling's plea for him to be properly drug tested ahead of their bantamweight showdown Saturday.

"... If that really fired him up like that, then maybe there is some truth to that drug test failure," Sterling told theScore. "You see that his team had four or five guys failed within that same year and - if I'm not mistaken - for the same substance.

"Where there's smoke, in my books, there is fire. I'm not saying he did, supposedly there is a discrepancy or mishandling of his specimen. But at the end of the day, I'm only repeating the words of the commission. If you get mad at me, I guess you're mad at those guys as well. At the end of the day, we're going to punch each other in the face, so who really gives a shit. If he wants to bring that into the Octagon with him, best of luck to Mr. Pedro."

Munhoz tested positive for unusual levels of testosterone in October 2014 following his submission win over Jerrod Sanders at UFC Fight Night 54. The victory was overturned to a no-contest and the Brazilian fighter maintains he unknowingly took a banned substance.

Munhoz (18-3) has won three fights in a row heading into Saturday, including a massive first-round knockout victory over former champion Cody Garbrandt at UFC 235 in March. The 32-year-old has never been stopped in his 22-fight career, but Sterling believes he can be the first one to do it.

"I think I could get him out of there in two rounds," Sterling said. "I think it's going to be like the Cody Stamann fight. He's going to come in aggressive, pushing the pace, try to establish his alpha dominance in the early goings of the fight. I think when he realizes I'm just too long, too rangy, I'm going to be too fast for him. ... Eventually, he's going to make the mistake of shooting in for the shot. I think I'm going to Pedro Munhoz Pedro Munhoz."

Sterling (17-3) also enters Saturday's contest on a three-fight win streak and is on the verge of a title shot. Should either Marlon Moraes or Henry Cejudo withdraw from their vacant bantamweight title fight at UFC 238, Sterling says he'll be ready to step in as a backup.

"One-hundred percent, I'm going to make championship weight just to prove a point," Sterling explained. "We've seen crazier things happen on 24 days' notice. I just want to make sure I put myself in the best position to seize any type of opportunity."

UFC 238 takes place at Chicago's United Center and will feature Cejudo and Moraes in the main event.

Watch the full interview with Sterling below and subscribe to theScoreMMA Youtube channel here.