Dana White has caught wind of Aljamain Sterling‘s latest comments.
Where The Barbs Began
Despite the UFC Bantamweight Champion catering to the UFC President’s request to have him fight Sean O’Malley at UFC 292, the two aren’t really seeing eye-to-eye. That would be a result of White’s ‘criticism’ of the uncertain-to-fight Sterling, where he suggested ‘Aljo is one of those guys that just can’t get out of his own way’.
Sterling clapped back at White for what he called ‘defamation’ towards him and has called for respect on his name because he did in fact sign up to fight ‘Suga’ at the end of the summer.
“I’ve saddled up with my nuts on the table and I showed out every single time. At what point do I get credit from the UFC, from Uncle Dana? Dana is super nice behind closed doors but then he tells me, I can’t get out of my own way. I’m like, what does that even mean?”
White Responds
White heard Sterling loud and clear but he’s not exactly walking back his words.
“I’m not the one that went out and said, ‘If my body holds up,’ when I’m promoting a fight,” White told FanSided. (h/t: MMA Fighting). “If you’re not healthy, don’t take the fight. We’ll have somebody else fight, we’ll do somebody else for the interim title.”
“Don’t say you’re going to go out and fight and then start saying stuff like, ‘If my [body holds up].’ What’s the first thing that happened? As soon as I was at the press conference, I was asked, ‘Is Aljamain Sterling really going to fight or not?’ Is that what you want the fans thinking? How is that me not giving him credit?”
‘How Am I Not Giving Him Credit?’
White continued on, citing Sterling’s recent foe Henry Cejudo dialed his number to lobby for an interim title fight since Sterling has been concerned about his quick turnaround.
“Saturday afternoon, I was home working out, minding my own business when my phone starts blowing up and Henry Cejudo is calling me, saying, ‘I’ll take the fight. I’ll take the fight’. I’m like, ‘Why? Is Aljo out?’ He’s like, ‘Yeah, he’s already making excuses, saying if his body holds up and this other stuff. Just give me the fight, we’ll fight for the interim, blah, blah, blah, blah blah.’ Then I walk into the press conference and one of the first questions that asked to me is, ‘Is Aljamain still fighting?’
“How am I not giving him credit?” White asked another time. “Ridiculous.”
