[autotag]Aljamain Sterling[/autotag] doesn’t have any regrets about the way things went down, from beginning to end.
UFC 259 took place Saturday, when now-champion Sterling (20-3 MMA, 12-3 UFC) challenged then-titleholder Petr Yan for the UFC bantamweight belt. Despite the unusual (and controversial, in the eyes of some) disqualification in Round 4 that earned him the title, Sterling has no issue in the way he conducted himself during the fight or in the aftermath.
Inside-the-cage adjustments can be made, especially pertaining to his diet, Sterling told MMA Junkie on Tuesday. He admitted he tired a bit unexpectedly as the fight progressed, seemingly much more so than Yan. And while he respects former 135-pound champion Henry Cejudo’s opinion that he didn’t pace himself, Sterling doesn’t think that was the problem.
“If (Cejudo) actually saw my training, he would know and everybody else would know, I can actually keep that pace for five rounds,” Sterling said. “It bothers me that I got tired so quickly halfway through the second. I don’t know what I’m blaming it on, but I think there’s a couple of pieces of things I’d done differently. My water load for one.
“The strength and conditioning was a little different. I don’t think it was that, though. I had a great output in my sparring sessions with strike counts and my wrestling takedown and expenditure for getting submissions, getting takedowns, and even against the guys who are tough to take down who are jiu-jitsu black belts, guys from Dagestan who wrestle in Dagestan and have good wrestling bases. (I was still) able to get them down, or them taking me down and me being able to get back up.”
Diet was a major issue for Sterling, too. It’s tradition for him not to eat on fight day. However, his body handled it a little different at UFC 259, in part, he believes because there was so much time in between his breakfast and the fight vs. Yan (15-2 MMA, 7-1 UFC).
“I think that might be the thing because I felt my energy going in the backroom and when we were getting on the bus, I didn’t feel good,” Sterling said. “I felt weak. I felt fatigued and I just felt like something was just wrong. If I had a performance like that on a compromised gas tank, I think the future is bright. I just got to make a little adjustment.”
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Although Sterling understands the technical critiques of his in-cage performance, when it comes to criticism of the aftermath, to him, the feedback is not valid.
Photos and videos posted by friends to social media garnered Sterling condemnation he said he doesn’t understand. Multiple angles of Sterling toasting with friends and family and his championship belt after the fight rubbed some fans and media members the wrong way – and they let Sterling know it.
“I didn’t post a single picture of me celebrating like I won anything,” Sterling said. “I won by default. I don’t feel like a champ. I didn’t post anything for that specific reason. Normally, after every fight, I post something. I post something in celebration of what happened. I made a post of me being out with my fiancee. Not me having the belt because the people put it on my shoulder like, ‘You deserve this. No, you deserve it. Put it on. Put it on.’ I didn’t want that. They flew all the way here. They paid their money. They came to the house. They gave me support. If they want to do that, OK, I understand it. I can’t tell them to put their phones away and not post anything if they want to post.”
Some critics have also accused him of the toast itself. Should someone who suffered a severe head injury hours prior be drinking alcohol? In reality, it wasn’t like that, according to Sterling.
“I didn’t drink,” Sterling said. “I had a sip of a champagne. I had a toast and said pretty much, ‘I’m sorry I let everyone down. I know you guys are still proud of me and I will validate the belt when I get this rematch. Hopefully, the next one I feel a lot better. I felt off. I’m sorry and I know you guys know my trainings are way more intense than my fight and we will get the next one. Just thank you guys for all coming out.’ I took a sip, I didn’t drink for the rest of the night. A couple hours later, I threw up. That’s my celebration for everyone who says I was out there, ra-ra-ing.”
When he reflects upon the night that included his title-clinching performance, Sterling said he’s comfortable with how it all unfolded. That said, with the way things went down, he doesn’t feel like the rightful champion. Until the rematch comes, he’ll keep that in mind and use it as motivation for what he hopes will be a championship-validating performance the second time around.
“In terms of my mind and how things went, I don’t feel like the champ,” Sterling said. “That’s the motivation right there, to show the world I can keep that pace for 25 minutes. … I’m always going to try to find a way when there is time on that clock. I think the fans definitely would (recognize that) or maybe they do, maybe they don’t. Maybe they’d appreciate that in terms of my tenacity and how I come to the octagon. I plan on coming out of the gate the same exact way, so I hope he’s ready for that. He better be ready for that.”
To hear the full interview with Sterling, check out the video below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MjU5WSscoE&feature=youtu.be
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