Aljamain Sterling & Dana White Quarrel Over UFC Fight Booking
UFC Bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling responded to bold insinuations from UFC President Dana White, after uncertainty sprouted around Sterling's short-notice booking against Sean O'Malley at UFC 292 on August 19.
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After the UFC 292 fight announcement, Sterling took to YouTube to discuss the booking with his fans:
"I'm trying to get to this fight in August." Sterling confided. "We've talked a little bit about it and I'm trying to see if we can make it happen .... I hope I'm not ruining anything by me saying that."
Sterling discussed a plethora of injuries he was still facing as a result of UFC 288. Because of this, many fans questioned the legitimacy of the UFC 292 booking.
When prompted about the precarious matchup at the UFC Vegas 73 presser on May 21, White claimed that Sterling "just can't get out of his own way," and "the fight is on. The fight is absolutely positively on."
Sterling decried White's comments on his YouTube channel on May 22:
"Uncle Dana, bro. You put me in the situation and you make it sound as if --- if you want me to be the bad guy, tell me behind closed doors, behind the scenes.
"'Aljo, this is what we're going to do, here's the script, here it is' .... I'm with it! You guys know I like to play a character, I'll be him! I'll be the character but let me in on the joke.
"Let's get in on the joke together... but not when you're going to keep doing this stuff and making me look like I'm a b****. Dana, get out of here with that.
"I have done everything the UFC has asked me to do .... every single time they've asked me to fight, I've saddled up, put my nuts on the table and I showed up every single time and I won.
"So it's just like, at what point do I get credit from the UFC? Dana is super nice behind closed doors, but then he tells me I can't get out of my own way .... if I say I'm going to show up, I f***ing show up, and I fight."
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Sterling's coach Ray Longo also revealed that he had no knowledge of Sterling agreeing to fight O'Malley prior to the announcement. It's a quick turnaround for Sterling, just over three months. Whether the fight can be made or not remains yet to be seen.
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