Aljamain Sterling is responding after Marlon Vera insinuated that he is cheating with his massive weight cuts.
It was during an episode of the ‘Believe You Me’ podcast that Vera spoke of Sterling saying:
“Cutting that much weight is cheating to me. You’re kind of a pu**y if you cut that much weight, because you want to be bigger and stronger. Because he really doesn’t hurt nobody, but he makes you carry his weight, takes you down.”
Continuing Vera spoke of himself saying:
“I’m 155 pounds in or out of camp. I feel like that’s a natural 135-pounder, and I’m still thinking I cut a s**tload of weight, because 20 pounds is a lot. That motherf**ker weighs like 170, 180 pounds when he’s eating f**king God knows what. Yeah, you can make the weight, but that’s why he’s been KOed unconscious, because of the amount of weight he cuts. If you touch him, he might go down.”
Marlon Vera’s comments did not go unnoticed by Aljamain Sterling who in a new video addressed the criticism on YouTube saying (h/t MMAMania):
“I’ve literally ran face-first into a knee against Marlon Moraes and I got faceplanted. Chito, Dom, Frankie, Yanez, Merab, Umar, Gardbrant — the whole Bantamweight division can go do the same exact thing — and get hit on the same exact spot from the force of a kick like that, and I guarantee you, you are sleeping. What are we even talking about? How are you even comparing that to that’s why he’s been KO’d unconscious?”
Continuing, Sterling said:
“That was a very particular event, a sequence of events, that led to the KO’d unconscious. So, we gotta stop right there, it’s not the same argument. It’s not like we’re in an exchange and I get hit and I’m going down. You can see that in the Yan fight, you can see that in the Munoz fight.”
Sterling then claimed Vera is seemingly trying to be two different people:
“Wow, it’s crazy how you can be this guy, and then you try to be this guy. So, I’m like, which one is it? Is Chito the tough, badass gangster that almost tries to dress like he’s a west coast gangster, versus the nice guy who’s super polite? Yeah, we’re in the same weight class, but I’m like, which one are you? You’re trying to be two different people.”
“I don’t really give a s**t which one you want to be toward me, I just don’t know what I’m supposed to … like if I see you in person and you walk past me and you put your hand out and you give me this death stare at the same time you stick your hand out. What, do you want to feel my soul, are you searching for something? I get it bro, you fight people for a living. That’s cool and badass, you’re like the only person I know that does that.”
Concluding ‘Funk Master‘ addressed Chito directly:
“I don’t know which side of the fence you’re on here, buddy. You gotta pick one. We don’t gotta be best friends, you don’t gotta be a dick. And we can be best friends, or you can be a dick. Which one do you want? I don’t get it. You’re confusing me.”
Marlon Vera (20-7 MMA) is currently preparing for his bantamweight match-up with Cory Sandhagen (15-4 MMA) which takes place on Saturday, February 18th at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The reigning UFC bantamweight champion, Aljamain Sterling (22-3 MMA) is rumoured to be fighting Henry Cejudo (16-2 MMA) in March of this year. If that does indeed happen – it will be Cejudo’s first return to the Octagon after an almost 3 year absence.
What do you think of Sterling’s response regarding ‘Chito’s’ criticism?
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