Aljamain Sterling coach Ray Longo has hit back at the trolls coming after the new champion in the wake of his win at UFC 259.
Sterling captured the UFC Bantamweight Championship on Saturday night after Petr Yan was disqualified due to an illegal knee he threw. In the wake of the event, with photos of Sterling holding the belt being leaked onto social media, many fans decided to throw a whole lot of grief at him and his team.
That includes Longo who, during an interview with MMA Junkie, voiced his frustration with the whole situation.
“Even though Aljo won the belt, it’s almost like it cursed him,” Longo said. “Guys, the amount of hate that I’m getting is insane. Like, I don’t make the f*cking rules. What are you yelling at me for? This is insanity. I’ve been around a long time. I’ve never experienced this ever. This is pure hatred. For what? I have no clue. It’s a f*cking sport and there are rules.
“If anything, I’d really love to hear from Yan what would possess him. You were winning the fight at that point,” the Sterling coach continued. “Why would you do that? It wasn’t in the heat of the battle. It’s just nuts, man. I’ll just tell you: This social media sh*t is out of control.”
“People that think this kid was faking it, they’re mentally deficient in a lot of areas because when I left him he was throwing up at the house,” Longo said. “By the time I left, he (had gone) to bed. I guess they cleared him on the CT scan. He’s back from the hospital. That was a vicious shot. It was blatant. Why that guy would’ve (done) it, being the champion, it’s not even a valid excuse: Do I know the rules or do I not know the rules?”
When asked about who he wanted to fight next for the belt, Sterling himself wasn’t 100% convinced that Yan will be his first challenger.
“I thought about it a little later and based on the way he did everything, a situation like that where it was intentional, and when something is that blatant, I don’t see how it could be deemed anything else other than fully intentional,” Sterling said. “I know the fans want the rematch and I want a rematch because we didn’t really have a finish. But I wouldn’t be opposed if they decided to go with somebody else. I wouldn’t care.”
What do you think the future holds for the new champion Aljamain Sterling?