It wasn’t Aljamain Sterling’s fault that Petr Yan dedicated one of the blatant, flagrant fouls ever in a UFC championship match.
It wasn’t Sterling’s fault he received a concussion from a knee to the pinnacle when he was down and helpless.
And it wasn’t Sterling’s fault that the principles dictated he be declared the winner when he was unable to proceed in a combat he was dropping badly.
Nonetheless, MMA followers let him have it, and for the final 12 months or so, they’ve let Sterling understand how they’ve felt each time the UFC bantamweight champion has been proven on digicam at an occasion.
He’s nearly at all times serenaded with boos. He didn’t assist it by exhibiting off the belt, additional drawing the ire of the gang.
And although he had severe neck surgical procedure, followers weren’t forgiving. He was solely the fourth UFC fighter, following featherweight Tristan Connelly, ex-middleweight champ Chris Weidman and former welterweight Alan Jouban, to have the surgical procedure. NHL star Jack Eichel of the Vegas Golden Knights had the surgical procedure in November 2021 and didn’t return to play till mid-February.
Sterling, who will face Yan in a rematch for the title on Saturday within the co-main occasion of UFC 273 in Jacksonville, Florida, hasn’t let the destructive consideration trouble him. He’s loved enjoying the villain.
“It just makes me know that people do care and they actually are paying attention,” Sterling says of the boos. “At the end of the day, other people’s words on how I felt and what I was going through — you can’t tell me what’s going on with my body. That’s just the dumbest thing ever. So it’s like when people are trying to argue with you that the sky is green when you’re seeing blue and everyone else is seeing blue or whatever, and they’re trying to convince you of something that’s just not true, like you can’t tell me what I’m physically feeling. It’s the same way if you go to the doctor with a stomach pain, the doctor keeps telling you that, you know, maybe it’s your thigh. And you’re just looking at this guy like, no I’m pretty sure I know what I’m talking about and I’m telling you something else and you’re diagnosing something completely different.
“You know, so, that’s really it. So I’m just glad people are paying attention. I’m glad they’re excited for this rematch and I’m excited that people actually give a sh*t about what I’m doing right now. They say if you ain’t got no haters you ain’t doing nothing. So it’s like, the hate is not something I would say I look forward to, but it lets me know that I’m doing something right.”
The neck surgical procedure was carried out by Dr. Robert G. Watkins in Marina del Ray, California. He’s the identical surgeon who operated on Jouban and received him again to competitors.
The surgical procedure went nicely, and Sterling was scheduled for a rematch with Yan. However issues weren’t going accurately and he needed to pull out. That, in fact, raised the ire of followers who have been enraged over the best way he’d gained the title.
When he couldn’t do the whole lot he might earlier than on the identical tempo and depth, it was regarding.
“The only time that I ever really had a scare was after my three-to-six-month window when I recovered and I was training, fully training again,” Sterling mentioned. “I just couldn’t sustain the pace and output that I was doing beforehand, and that kind of worried me. I just felt like neurologically the nerves weren’t ready and probably might not ever heal to the point where I could sustain that output and endurance again.”
Watkins rapidly assured him he would, finally.
“Dr. Watkins pretty much told me I just need more time,” he mentioned. “That’s really all it is. He said the body has to do its thing and run its course and get you back to where you once were and that’s essentially what it was. So now I’m firing on all cylinders. I haven’t looked this ripped in so long and I feel so much stronger in the sense of my training output, what I’ve been able to do, not having to take the days off because I have a kink in my neck and I can’t wrestle today or I can’t wrestle or I can’t train for a week because I’m so tight and the flare-ups in my neck.
“So to have that all just go away, it’s a blessing, man, night and day. And I’m just super excited to be back and people— they can say whatever they want. I’m comfortable in my own skin and I’m just happy that I can actually do this again.”
So Sterling goes into his first title protection totally wholesome and effervescent with confidence. He was largely dominated by Yan within the first combat and mentioned he struggled with rehydrating after his weight reduce.
His neck harm had been bothering him since he was a freshman in faculty and had gotten progressively worse.
All of it added as much as a clunker of a efficiency the primary time in opposition to Yan. He mentioned Yan gained’t get any breaks this time.
“I’m not going to botch my entire training camp again, and have a f***ed up rehydration the day of the fight and give this man an opportunity to have a freaking walking mummy in front of him. I’m not going to do that again. So I will show everybody who I am, and we can remove all doubt and finally put this chapter to rest.”
