"It's a fist fight" - Aljamain Sterling explains why Valentina Shevchenko deserved to win UFC 275 fight against Taila Santos
Aljamain Sterling is finally sober enough to provide an assessment of last Saturday's bout between Valentina Shevchenko and Taila Santos.
I need to watch this fight sober because I’m confused. Great fight either way! #UFC275
The pay-per-view event, which took place in Singapore, saw a controversial end to the women's flyweight championship clash. Shevchenko, who was dominated by Santos early on, narrowly retained her title via a razor-thin split decision.
The decision sparked an uproar from fans and fighters alike online. Many believe Santos did enough in the early goings to have her hand raised at the end of the bout.
More than 48 hours removed from the event, the UFC bantamweight champion pushed back on the sentiment that Santos was robbed of the victory. During an episode of his podcast, 'Funk Master' argued:
"I think the story of this fight was the takedowns didn't score heavily in the judges' eyes. I'm the first to say it, if I take you down and I do absolutely nothing and you are punching me in the face the entire time, I think the score should go towards the person doing the damage because it's a fist fight."
Check out Aljamain Sterling's comments below:
Valentina Shevchenko revealed she was injured ahead of Taila Santos fight
Valentina Shevchenko looked nowhere near her usually dominant self during her most recent outing against Taila Santos. Unlike in her previous title defenses, 'Bullet' had a tough time against the Brazilian challenger, who pushed her to the brink of defeat.
However, the Kyrgyzstani provided an explanation for her relatively poor performance. According to Shevchenko, she hurt her foot in the lead-up to UFC 275. During the UFC 275 post-fight presser, the flyweight queen revealed:
"Coming into the fight, I was injured. My foot was injured. All week, fight week, UFC Performance Institute, physical therapists they were working on my foot to get it back into the best shape. The few kicks that I had like super strong, it injured my foot. I hope it’s nothing serious that could delay my return to the Octagon, but this is the reason why I didn’t dance."
Catch Valentina Shevchenko's comments below: