‘Big’ John McCarthy has joined the ranks of a small portion of fans who believe that Aljamain Sterling wasn’t hurt by Petr Yan’s knee as much as it showed. Sterling became the first UFC fighter to win a championship by way of his opponent being disqualified. Initially, Yan’s illegal knee looked devastating. However, more and more professional analysts believe that Aljo “milked” the situation.
Sterling vs Yan
Scorecards were all over the place for the bantamweight championship bout. From a viewership standpoint, Petr was seemingly winning the fight after finding his timing and distance after the first round presumably in favor of Sterling. Aljamain sprinted towards the center of the cage with energy and a heavy pace to open the fight. The tide seemed to swing in his favor, as he landed shots from awkward angles.
However, as the fight continued, Yan was able to find his time. Unfortunately, Sterling was blasted with an illegal knee as a downed opponent in the 4th round. Yan was ultimately disqualified due to his actions, losing his world title in the process.
John McCarthy Speaks on Aljamain Sterling
After the match, the burning question in the MMA world was if Sterling used the rules in his favor. Or, if he was really hurt bad enough to not continue. In which, John McCarthy believes that Sterling wasn’t hurt as bad as he led on. McCarthy spoke about the Sterling incident on the Fight Cat Youtube channel.
“I’m gonna get eaten up by some people, especially Ray Longo. But I’ve seen Aljo take some big shots, he’s a tough dude. When you look at that knee, and you look at that initial response. And then look at what occurred. I’m not sure that it was affecting him as much as it was coming out.”
“But once he hears I’m gonna get a win here, that’s money. I’m not saying he made a bad decision. It’s called business, and you’ve got to make a business decision. If that’s what occurred I don’t blame him.”
What do fans think about John McCarthy’s take on Aljamain Sterling’s championship victory?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8-5yA82nEo
