- Aljamain Sterling admitted that he didn’t want to face Sean O’Malley without enough rest
- “Funk Master” will push for some time off after UFC 292
Reigning UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling wanted to take a longer rest after defending his title at UFC 288 against Henry Cejudo. However, he was obliged to fight again when the UFC booked the title fight against Sean O’Malley for UFC 292.
The champ Opened Up
Speaking on his YouTube channel, “Funk Master” confessed that he was dealing with a bicep injury when he fought Cejudo, Petr Yan and T.J. Dillashaw. He was looking forward to let his body recuperate but he understood the responsibility of being a champion and that’s why he said yes when the O’Malley fight was proposed.
“After this [Cejudo] fight, I had so much things with Henry, so many things planned out, that I just wanted to decompress and stop thinking about fighting for once because I do so much to get to the fight and prep myself to mentally get ready for battle. I had that just kinda ripped from underneath my legs. Now I’m like, ‘Okay, this time you motherf**kers are not doing this to me again,’” Sterling explained.
“I’m gonna fight, even though it’s literally against my will,” he continued. “People can say whatever. If Dana were to hear this, Hunter [Campbell] were to hear this, they would say, ‘Oh, we’re not making him do anything.’ Let’s be real here, bro. Come on, dude. You kinda are. You kinda are. Let’s call a spade a spade. I’m not trying to say all the behind the scenes things because that would be bad business on my part, but you kind of are making me fight sooner than I’d like because like I said, I still have injuries that I’m still nursing to this day and I’m not gonna stop saying that. People can get mad at me or, ‘You’re disclosing that you’re not 100% healthy.’ No one is healthy going into the fight. And clearly, I just fought.”
Aljo wants a break After UFC 292
Sterling further pointed out that he could’ve turned down the O’Malley fight but the “behind the scenes stuff” saw him agreeing to it yet again. After UFC 292, “Funk Master” let everybody know that he wants to take a decent break.
“I chose to do this and it’s the same thing I’m choosing to do this again. I could simply tell these guys ‘No, don’t call my f**king phone, I’m not fighting.’ I could do that,” Sterling exclaimed. “But again, behind the scenes stuff, they have their ways to kind of make you go, ‘You know what, I’m going to do this for you guys again. Even though I’m not going to get any ‘Thank yous’ for it. I’ll do it for you guys again, and hopefully this has some sort of good faith going toward the future. And please, after this, let me enjoy my life a little bit and the fruits of my labor.”
It can be recalled that Sterling previously hit out at O’Malley for pushing for their title fight to take place in August. For Aljo, “Sugar” wants to take advantage of the fact that he had just finished an exhausting and taxing five-round war with Cejudo. Regardless of the situation, Sterling vs. O’Malley is still set for UFC 292 in August.
