Aljamain Sterling issued a statement following the tremendous setback he received for speaking out with the UFC weightlifting title.
Sterling (20-3 MMA) won the coveted bantamweight title at the UFC 259 event on Saturday, but it was not the way he or anyone looked.
Instead of taking the title home to point out or stop Petr Yan, Aljamain Sterling rather caught the belt by way of disqualification.
‘Funkmaster’ had a strong start to his fight with Yan, but the Russian standout soon after turned the tide in his favor. When Petr was about to possibly get a finish, he inexplicably knelt Sterling in the head while being excluded. The strike was considered illegal and Sterling could not continue and was therefore awarded the title.
Since the victory, Aljamain Sterling has been peppered with insults from fans and fellow fighters. ‘Funkmaster’ went to Instagram where he issued the following statement to anyone who is offended that he is posing with the UFC belt.
‘I did not win the @UFC belt as I suggested, but also did nothing illegal. My friends and family flew miles away to come see me and asked me to lift the belt as a champion because I behaved like that. Aljamain Sterling wrote. ‘If it offends you, you have no love in your life, and your own problems to sort out. I’m the ‘champion’, but I personally will not feel 100% empowered until I defend it in the first place as I suggested it! Either way, I can not wait to be cleaned. The future is bright and I can not wait to see what my team and I envision. Make adjustments. Life. Move. On. ”
The UFC is obviously aiming for an immediate rematch between Petr Yan and Aljamain Sterling. However, ‘Funkmaster’ recently suggested that he would be willing to fight someone else in his first attempt at title defense.
This article first appears on BJPENN.COM