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LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – JUNE 06: Aljamain Sterling celebrates after his submission victory over Cory Sandhagen in their bantamweight bout during the UFC 250 event at UFC APEX on June 06, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)
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LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – JUNE 06: Aljamain Sterling celebrates after his submission victory over Cory Sandhagen in their bantamweight bout during the UFC 250 event at UFC APEX on June 06, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)
UFC fighters Al Iaquinta and Aljamain Sterling sat down in an interview with Dave Schmulenson and Helen Yee for the Schmozone podcast. This comes a month before Sterling’s scheduled fight for the bantamweight belt versus current champion Petr Yan.
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Sterling was asked several questions, one of them being about Petr Yan’s recent change in camp to the American Top Team. “He’s running, he’s scared,” Sterling joked. “He’s definitely nervous.“
“I mean, honestly, I respect him because he knows that he has a tough challenge ahead of him. So, in terms of that, I know he is trying to do the right things to get him the win, and I don’t want any excuses at the end of the day, and the same thing goes for me,” he added.
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Sterling also said how Yan would have a hard fight against him because he is a guy who likes to fight sporadically and switches it up in between the match, especially in the grappling department. He explained that he liked to do things on the fly.
Aljamain Sterling on the Fight Being Canceled
Al Iaquinta asked Sterling when the fight was originally scheduled, and ‘Funkmaster’ replied, “December 12th.” The fight had to be called off as Yan withdrew due to personal reasons.
Sterling criticized this as it was a breach of contract, and because ‘No Mercy’ also left the fans in the dark. He added that he should get something for being the guy who underwent a training camp and weight cut.
Furthermore, Sterling talked about the financial implications of a canceled bout on a fighter. He said, “I just hope he gets to fight, and I believe he’s gonna show up this time, and we’ll see what happens.”
‘Funkmaster’ added that he put himself in a good position and that he is peaking at the right time. Sterling also warned against overtraining for a fight and advised everyone to go hard on the day of the fight.
The bout is finally going to take place on the 6th of March. Aljamain Sterling feels confident about the fight; the same can be said about Yan. It’s going to be a thrilling event between a grappler and a puncher. Who will you be supporting?
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