Chito Vera thinks Aljamain Sterling made a grave mistake.
‘Aljamain F*cked Up’ With Fast Return
Just three months after going the distance with Henry Cejudo at UFC 288, the UFC Bantamweight Champion would make a quick turnaround in a high-stakes fight with Sean O’Malley. Unfortunately for Sterling, this marked his last title defense as the top contender TKO’ed him in two rounds at UFC 292.
Vera, who was victorious in Boston, says Sterling shouldn’t have taken the fight with ‘Suga’ so soon.
“I think his mind wasn’t ready for the pressure of the lights, for the magnitude of the event,” Vera said on Food Truck Diaries. “I believe Aljamain fucked up. He beat Cejudo in Brooklyn. He should be, ‘f*ck you, f*ck you, I’m fighting in December. You wanna strip me? Strip me’. And he kind of like went like, ‘oh, I wanna make a million or maybe over, I’m gonna just do it.'”
Money & Legacy
‘Funkmaster’ ultimately walked away from his final title defense with a $500K payday, along with a hefty criticism from Vera.
“It isn’t just about the money, it’s about also the legacy,” Vera continued. “He already got the money. He already got a couple houses. He’s already successful. Don’t fucking whore yourself out for couple hundred thousand.”
“He wasn’t healthy at all. The UFC and Sean push him. If I’m him, I would be like, you have two options. Have him wait for December or have him fight for the interim belt and he meet me in December. Or strip me and I just fight the winner in December. It’s the same, it’s the f*cking same. He f*cked up.”
Sean O’Malley vs. Chito Vera 2
Having won five out of his last six fights and a previous TKO win over reigning champ O’Malley, Vera believes he’s in a great position for a title shot at bantamweight.
When will that potential rematch take place? Who knows, but one thing is for sure— Vera is ready to go anytime, anywhere.
“I’m not a number one contender, it doesn’t matter,” Vera said. “It’s all business. It’s fighting. It’s a show and I got a win over him. So, it’s a perfect time to do it. But if you ask me, I’m not pushing it. I’m not f*cking going desperate online, going like, this is my time. I don’t do that. I don’t give a f*ck.”
“It’s so easy to make the fight right now, especially, [since] there’s title implications. The most money to make is right now… I’m down for December, the month before, the month after this month. I’m in. I’ll fight anybody. And yeah, I proved that by going from a huge fight in Henry Cejudo to go down to Pedro Munhoz.”
