Aljamain Sterling needed less than two minutes at UFC 250 to record arguably his greatest win to date, and afterward, the bantamweight contender dedicated his win to the George Floyd protests.
Sterling tells protestors “I’m with you guys all the way”
The New York fighter took on rising 135’er Cory Sandhagen on the main card, and Sterling secured a submission win in less than 90 seconds. Heading into the fight, Sterling was ranked #2 in the 135 division and Sandhagen was #4.
While speaking to Joe Rogan after the massive victory, a clearly excited and emotional Sterling said this.
“The world is in shambles right now, especially America; we’ve got a lot going on in this country. It’s a great country, but there’s a lot of things that need to be changed.
Especially the injustices happening to minorities all across America. So this one is for everybody, back home fighting in the good fight, protesting. I support you guys.
I’m with you guys all the way. I wish I could be home and be part of it. But, I had to handle business.”
Sterling isn’t the only UFC fighter to voice support for the recent wave of protests. Case in point, not long ago, middleweight champ and rising superstar Israel Adesanya spoke at a Black Lives Matter rally in New Zealand.
Sterling’s not “sold” on Petr Yan
With Saturday’s victory, there’s no question that Sterling is knocking on the title shot door. But, right now, the UFC is expected to have Petr Yan face former featherweight champ Jose Aldo for the vacant, bantamweight title.
While talking about that fact after his win on Saturday, Sterling said this (quotes via MMA Junkie).
“It’s a tough fight,” Sterling said. “Jose Aldo is a great dude, he’s tough competition and former champion.
He had a really close fight with Marlon Moraes. I thought the fight could’ve gone to him. I thought it did.
“And Petr Yan is a tough dude himself, but I just don’t think he’s … I don’t know, he’s good, I’m just not sold on him yet.
I think there’s some question marks to be answered, and I don’t know. Maybe this one is going to answer those questions.
“I’d love to be the guy in the position to take out the boogie man that everyone thinks. I’m like, ‘Dude, he’s a f*cking person. He bleeds just like everybody else. I don’t give a sh*t.’
It’s different when you have a good wrestler who’s confident in his abilities. I can strike, I can wrestle, I can do jiu-jitsu.
There’s black belts, and then there’s black belts. And I’m a Serra BJJ black belt.”
Hopefully that fight gets booked soon, and we get to see Sterling face the winner before 2020 is up. With Saturday’s win, the 30 year-old Sterling moved his overall record to 19-3 and his winning streak to five.
More About:MMA MMA Frenzy Sports