"How does that not equate to a 10-8 round?" - Aljamain Sterling believes MMA judges need to get into grappling positions themselves to score fights more fairly
Aljamain Sterling believes MMA judges need practical experience in grappling to score fights fairly. The UFC bantamweight champion used his second fight against Petr Yan and Mackenzie Dern's recent fight against Yan Xiaonan as exhibits for his case.
In her UFC Vegas 61 fight against Xiaonan, Dern made a late push in the final frame for a 10-8 round. The Brazilian initiated a clinch against the fence and took her opponent down. She controlled Xiaonan on the ground for the majority of the round and attempted a few submissions. In the end, only one judge scored the fight 10-8 in Dern's favor.
Aljamain Sterling further argued that he deserved a 10-8 score in at least one round of his title fight against Petr Yan. Former two-division UFC champion Daniel Cormier supported 'Funk Master's' claim that the second round was a 10-8 round.
#UFC273 Official Scorecard: Aljamain Sterling (@FunkMasterMMA) vs Petr Yan
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Speaking with Kevin Iole of Yahoo Sports, Aljamain Sterling made a strong case for determining the parameters for a 10-8 round:
"The perfect example is Mackenzie Dern vs. Yan Xiaonan. Watching that fight was very disturbing because I don't even know what else you have to do anymore to get a 10-8. If you're on the ground with gravity punching you in the head multiple times, that does not feel good. So I think it comes down to the [fact that] judges need to go into these positions because then you eradicate what is a 10-8 round for the grappler."
Sterling added that while there's a clear criteria for a 10-8 round from the perspective of striking, a similar clairy is missing for grappling:
"For grappling, we don't have that clarity. I didn't get a 10-8 round going for submissions and going for big ground-and-pound and having big moments in that round. Mackenzie Dern does the same thing, she clinches her up at the 4:20 mark and finally gets her down. She has over four minutes of control plus ground-and-pound strikes. How does that not equate to a 10-8 round?"
Watch Aljamain Sterling's comments starting from the18:00 minute mark below:
Aljamain Sterling offers a prediction for his upcoming fight against T.J. Dillashaw at UFC 280
Aljamain Sterling is set to defend the bantamweight title against T.J. Dillashaw in the co-main event of UFC 280. 'Funk Master' will face the former two-time bantamweight champion on October 22, 2022, at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
It is not surprising that Aljamain Sterling despises his opponent for his usage of PEDs in the past. Dillashaw received a two-year suspension from USADA for violating the UFC's anti-doping policy in 2019.
The UFC bantamweight champion recently had local fans and media members come to his gym for an open workout and Q&A session ahead of UFC 280. When asked about his prediction for the fight against Dillashaw, Sterling answered:
"I wrote down in my book. Second round finish. Submission!"
Watch the full video below: