"I stand corrected" - Aljamain Sterling admits he was wrong about Rafael Fiziev vs. RDA stoppage

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Aljamain Sterling (left), Rafael dos Anjos vs. Rafael Fiziev poster (right) [Images courtesy of @funkmastermma and @ufc on Instagram]

Aljamain Sterling changed his stance on the stoppage of the fight between Rafael dos Anjos and Rafael Fiziev this past weekend at UFC Fight Night: Dos Anjos vs. Fiziev.

'Ataman' earned a fifth-round TKO win against 'RDA'. 'Funk Master' previously claimed that the stoppage of the fight was premature and that the referee should have given the former champion more time to recover.

However, it seems like the bantamweight champion has changed his mind. He now accepts that Dos Anjos was caught flush by Fiziev and that the contest was rightfully stopped. Taking to his Instagram, Aljamain Sterling said:

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"I stand corrected guys. I was getting butchered for my opinion. Mind you, I'm watching live. The athlete always wants to have every opportunity they can have to try to recover, to try to get back in the fight. He took a monster shot right on the chin that sat him down. And Fiziev followed up with one monster shot that hit his head and bounced it off the canvas."

Sterling added that he was confused by the set of events that led to the finish as he was watching in real time and didn't have much opportunity to digest what happened:

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"Now, in real time, when you watch that and it happens like this, it almost comes off as, 'Whoa! What happened?' You didn't let the guy trying to turn. Because he had his hand up. Even though he got crushed, he did have his hand up. Looked like he was ready and it just got split. It split right through, and Fiziev landed a nasty overhand. It caught Rafael dos Anjos flush."

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What's next for Rafael Fiziev in the UFC?

Rafael Fiziev jumped three places to the No.7 spot in the lightweight division with his win against 'RDA'. He hilariously called out tennis legend Rafael Nadal in his post-fight interview with Michael Bisping.

'Ataman' is now in close proximity to the top 5 of the 155lbs division. The likes of Justin Gaethje, Dustin Poirier, Michael Chandler and Beneil Dariush are all possible next match-ups for the gifted striker.

Rafael Fiziev rarely fails to entertain fans whenever he is in action. One can expect a banger in his next contest, regardless of the opponent.

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