Aljamain Sterling had some serious opinions about Henry Cejudo’s withdrawal from UFC 292. The UFC bantamweight called Cejudo’s criticism of him hypocritical. This is because Cejudo recently withdrew from a bout with Marlon Vera scheduled for the UFC pay-per-view in Boston on August 19. This is the same card that features Sterling vs. Sean O’Malley as the main event.
Continue reading to find out what his ex-opponent has to say about the newly-returned fighter!
Cejudo has already criticized Sterling’s ambivalence toward a potential comeback on August 19. Given that he had fought and defeated Cejudo at UFC 288 in May, Sterling was worried that he wouldn’t have enough time to recover and return to defend his championship against O’Malley at UFC 292. The speedy turnaround was mocked by Cejudo, who then volunteered to compete against O’Malley for a temporary belt.
The Funkmaster cited on his YouTube channel that Henry Cejudo was no longer in the fight. He mentioned how Cejudo had referred to himself as “The savage” and had messaged Dana White, saying that if Sterling didn’t want to fight, he would step in. Sterling found it ironic that the roles had now reversed, and Cejudo, who was once known as a “little savage,” was no longer living up to that reputation. According to Sterling, Cejudo’s actions were akin to being a deceitful and sneaky person.
He accused Cejudo of publicly tarnishing his reputation and making it seem like he was the one avoiding the fight. He also mentioned Cejudo’s words that the fight wasn’t as bad, so he should have been able to turn it around. Drawing from his own experience as a champion defending his title multiple times, Sterling emphasized that preparing for a 25-minute fight was significantly different from preparing for a 15-minute fight.
Sterling thinks Cejudo’s statements and contrasting actions have damaged his reputation in the MMA community.
Sterling expressed that Henry had desired to portray himself as a formidable figure, deceiving the fans by giving the impression that he was fully committed to winning. However, according to Sterling, Henry’s actions had resulted in him appearing foolish, attempting to pretend to be someone he was not. Sterling acknowledged the fact that both he and Henry were human beings. Unlike Henry, Sterling had been transparent from the start, as he did not want to deceive the fans who paid hard-earned money to enjoy the sport.
Sterling further revealed that he had entered the octagon while dealing with his injuries, emphasizing that he had fought against Henry despite being injured. With these points, Sterling questioned Henry’s claims of being a true savage, implying that it was not applicable to him. In a respectful manner, Sterling implied that Henry’s image as a tough guy was not genuine.
What do you think of Sterling’s views about Cejudo? Are they justified or a little harsh? Let us know in the comments!
