Aljamain Sterling realized his ultimate dream as he was crowned the bantamweight champion of the world at UFC 259. However, he would not have envisaged claiming the belt in the manner in which he did. An illegal knee by the champion, Petr Yan disqualified ‘No Mercy’ from the bout, and hence, Sterling was crowned the new 135-pound champion of the world.
Following his win, Sterling has had to endure relentless backlash from MMA fans. ‘Funkmaster’ was mocked for his ‘Oscar worthy’ performance inside the octagon and for taking ‘the easy way out’. To make matters worse, after the fight it was revealed that he had a falling out with his long-time coach and fan-favorite Matt Serra, which further added salt to the wounds.
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Aljamain Sterling shares his thoughts on the relentless social media trolling by fans
In a recent interview, James Lynch asked Sterling what he made of the social media backlash from fans and notable personalities such as John McCarthy, who said he was ‘acting’
He said, “Yeah, I think when you see a guy like John McCarthy who is supposed to be the standard for refereeing and officiating…. I think when you have him give out these false narratives and painting a picture where it makes me look like I quit or took the easy road out…. I think there is something to be said about that.”‘Funkmaster’ continued, “And to hear people who I thought were intelligent, saying certain things, it really. That’s the one thing that bothers me because it’s like man I used to think you were smart. And if you think someone can actually fake that, please let me do it to you. We’ll see if that is still your stance on what happened.”
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At the time when Yan landed the knee, Sterling was a ‘downed opponent’. After the fight, Dana White stated that the UFC will schedule a rematch as soon as possible.
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It is unfair that Sterling is bearing the brunt of fans, even though he was not the fighter who broke rules to gain an unfair advantage. He was severely concussed and had he continued, he would have most likely been knocked out sooner rather than later.
Do you think Sterling took ‘the easy way out’? What do you make of his response to John McCarthy? Let us know in the comments below!
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