‘Aljamain You’re Better Than That’ – Demetrious Johnson Says He Was Horrified at Aljamain Sterling’s Defensive Position

Published 09/30/2021, 9:29 AM EDT

Follow Us

UFC 259 was one of the biggest events of 2021. Three title fights headlined the card. Peter Yan vs. Aljamain Sterling for the UFC bantamweight championship was one of them.

The fight between Yan and Sterling ended controversially after an illegal knee by ‘No Mercy’ cost him his UFC bantamweight title. Lots of fighters weighed in with their opinion on the decision and the latest one to do so is former UFC flyweight champion, Demetrious ‘Mighty Mouse’ Johnson.

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

‘I’m Struggling to Get Through Two Rounds’- Aljamain Sterling Details His Physical Ailments

Johnson, in a recent interview, said, “I kneed a guy in his face to when I fought Yuya Wakamatsu, I was kneeing him.” 

This is not the first time ‘Mighty Mouse’ has voiced his feelings about the decision.

Demetrious Johnson on Aljamain Sterling’s position

Even though Yan received a lot of criticism for the knee and many believed that it was the right decision to strip him of the title, Johnson had a different take on it. ‘Mighty Mouse’ also revealed his thoughts on Sterling‘s position before Yan kneed him.

He said, “As an athlete, I’m sitting here and watching the fight and I’m like, Aljamain, you are way better than that, you are way f**king better than that and you are sitting on your hands and knees. And these were his words, ‘I felt like I was in a safe position.’ You are in a f**king fight dawg, there is no safe position.”

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

Trending

Get instantly notified of the hottest stories via Google! Click on Follow Us and Tap the Blue Star.

Follow Us

Johnson, a former UFC champion, now fights in ONE Championship, where they allow their fighters to hit their opponents with knees if and when grounded. In fact, Johnson lost his last fight against Adriano Moraes after getting hit by some massive knees. Hence, he believes that using the ground as self-defense while getting hit is not good.

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

“We Run a Real Business Unlike Boxing” – Dana White Finally Answers Fighter Pay Questions

However, as rules in the UFC are different, fighters may continue to make the most out of the leeway the rules provide them. What are your thoughts on what Demetrious Johnson said? Let us know in the comments!

SHARE THIS ARTICLE :

Written by:

Arunaditya Aima

600Articles

One take at a time

Arunaditya is a UFC writer at EssentiallySports. Having completed his Post Graduate Diploma in Multimedia Journalism from IIJNM, Arunaditya aspires to be an important voice in the world of MMA and interview the likes of Jon Jones, Conor McGregor, Amanda Nunes, and other such superstars of the sport. He has followed the sport for over a decade and is an ardent fan of Georges St-Pierre, who he believes is the greatest of all time.
Show More>