Aljamain Sterling talks about his beef with Michael Chandler
Aljamain Sterling recently spoke up about his beef with UFC lightweight contender Michael Chandler.
Current UFC bantmanweight champion Aljamain Sterling has opened up about his ongoing feud with Michael Chandler in the episode #215 of his podcast show The Weekly Scraps.
'Aljo' discussed how his conflict with Chandler started when he disagreed with his views on fighter pay in the UFC. Chandler believes that fighters only demand higher pay because the organization generates a lot of revenue through its events. He argued that even when the promotion was not as popular, fighters still received a reasonable amount. Chandler, on the other hand, supports the UFC and its President Dana White. But clearly Aljamain Sterling doesn't agree with any of this.
The bantamanweight said:
"Come on Michael Chandler, you're always brown-nosing Dana and being like Dana built the UFC fighter pay is exactly how it should be. Michael Chandler, you're full of sh*t for defending fighter pay like, we should obviously be getting paid more."
Watch Sterling's full conversation on Chandler below:
Michael Chandler has received criticism for his stance on the ongoing debate about fighter pay in the UFC. Despite the controversy, Chandler has expressed his satisfaction with the current pay structure of the promotion. He argues that the reason why some fighters are demanding higher pay is due to the large amounts of revenue generated by the UFC from its events.
Aljamain Sterling claims he'll face Henry Cejudo in May
Aljamain 'Funkmaster' Sterling claims he will face Henry Cejudo next, but it will be later than expected.
Rumors about Aljamain Sterling defending his bantamweight title against Cejudo have been circulating for several months. It was initially reported that the fight would take place in early 2023, with the UFC targeting April's UFC 287 event. However, Sterling recently spoke with The Schmo and revealed that these plans have been postponed to May. The delay is due to a new treatment plan Sterling is undergoing due to a bicep injury.
The bantamweight champ quoted:
"Triple Zero’ is next. 110 percent, he’s next. It’s not going to be April though. After talking with my medical team and the doctors, we’re going to give myself a little bit more time. It’s going to be May. It’s kind of crazy how everything kind of comes full circle. After the fight, I knew I had these injuries coming into the fight, before the rematch with [Petr] Yan, then the T.J."
Watch The Schmo interact with Sterling below:
The African-American's candidness about his injury could be a disadvantage for him leading up to the fight with Cejudo. By revealing the injury, he gives Cejudo an advantage as he now has something specific to focus on. In such situations, fighters usually avoid discussing the specifics of their injuries to maintain the element of surprise.
However, Sterling is confident that his injury will not affect the outcome of the fight. He is confident that he will be fully healed come fight time, and the result will be determined based on their performance in the octagon.