UFC president Dana White has taken none too kindly to his bantamweight champion’s recent assertions. Following Sterling’s claim that White and the UFC brass were undervaluing him in the leadup to UFC 292, White disagreed vehemently in an interview with FanSided.
“I’m not the one that went out and said, ‘If my body holds up,’ when I’m promoting a fight. If you’re not healthy, don’t take the fight.
UFC President Dana White Fires Back at Aljamain Sterling
We’ll have somebody else fight, we’ll do somebody else for the interim title. Don’t say you’re going to go out and fight and then start saying stuff like, ‘If my [body holds up].’
What’s the first thing that happened? As soon as I was at the press conference, I was asked, ‘Is Aljamain Sterling really going to fight or not?’ Is that what you want the fans thinking? How is that me not giving him credit?”
Sterling’s initial comment seemed to come out of left field, following the announcement of his next headline performance at UFC 292. “You put me in this situation and you make it sound as if you want me to be the bad guy, tell me behind closed doors.
I’ll play the character, but get me in on the joke. But not when you’re going to keep doing this stuff, making me look like a b****. Like, nah, bro, you’re not going to keep doing that to me, dog. Get the f*** out of here.
Dana, get out of here with that. I’ve done everything the UFC has asked me to do — two partially torn biceps, went through two training camps like that, fought through them, beat Petr Yan, former champion; beat T.J. Dillashaw, former champion.
Then you’ve got Henry Cejudo, ‘the greatest combat athlete of all-time’ — I beat this guy, also with a partially torn bicep tendon. I got stem cells.
Every time they have asked me to fight, I put my nuts on the table and I showed out every single time and won. At what point do I get credit from the UFC, from Uncle Dana?”
White continued, calling the idea that he isn’t giving Sterling the credit he deserves for defending his title through several health issues “ridiculous”.
“That was a Saturday afternoon, I was home working out, minding my own business when my phone starts blowing up and Henry Cejudo is calling me, saying, ‘I’ll take the fight. I’ll take the fight.’
I’m like, ‘Why? Is Aljo out?’ He’s like, ‘Yeah, he’s already making excuses, saying if his body holds up and this other stuff. Just give me the fight, we’ll fight for the interim, blah, blah, blah, blah blah.’ Then I walk into the press conference and one of the first questions that asked to me is, ‘Is Aljamain still fighting?’
“How am I not giving him credit? Ridiculous.”
