UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling reveals he consumes alcohol throughout training camp
Aljamain Sterling is set to defend his belt for the second time at UFC 280. Ahead of his title fight against T.J. Dillashaw, Sterling made the shocking revelation that he doesn't stop drinking alcohol during his training camp.
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Speaking with Nik Hobbs of Sky Sports, 'Funk Master' stated:
"I do actually drink during training camp and people ask me 'when do you stop?' Even fighters, they ask me all the time, but I drink throughout the entire training camp. I don't get smashed, but I have one or two after a good hard day of sparring."
The bantamweight champion added:
"That's like my reward if I had a good day and my cardio was on point and I reward myself with something that can just help me relax and sleep nice and peaceful. Everyone's got their own methods to their madness and this is mine and people think - they want to be concerned because I'm on a boat. If I lose because I was on a boat, I got bigger problems."
While it is certainly shocking to hear the mixed martial arts champion admit to drinking alcohol while preparing for a fight, the strategy has clearly not hindered his performance inside the octagon.
Watch Aljamain Sterling's comments on drinking during training camp below (starting at the 4:29 mark):
Chael Sonnen warns Aljamain Sterling about repeating UFC 273 mistake
In a recent interview, Chael Sonnen shared a mistake that Sterling cannot repeat from his UFC 273 title defense against Petr Yan. After being ahead in the fight, Sterling appeared to coast in the two championship rounds.
Appearing on former double champion Henry Cejudo's YouTube channel to breakdown the fight, Sonnen stated:
"You cannot throw a minute away, let alone 10. That was a bad sign in Aljo. I hope he learned his lesson from that. I hope he learned you got to get the championship and preserve it. He's got to throw that strategy out because T.J. takes those ten minutes. You go beat T.J. all you want, you give T.J. Dillashaw 10 minutes, you're not gonna make it out of that fight."
Although Sterling was able to dominate the first three rounds of his UFC 273 matchup against 'No Mercy', his performance in the championship rounds left a lot to be desired.
Watch Chael Sonnen and Henry Cejudo breakdown Aljamain Sterling vs. T.J. Dillashaw below: