"He kind of brings it on himself a lot" - Aljamain Sterling's teammate Al Iaquinta weighs in on the hate the champion has been receiving from MMA fans

Aljamain Sterling (left) & Al Iaquinta (right) [Image Credits- @aliaquinta on Instagram]

Aljamain Sterling has not been in the fans' good books this year, having found himself on the receiving end of a significant amount of hate from them. Al Iaquinta believes that the bantamweight champion's demeanor and way of working often paints a huge target on his back.

While in conversation with James Lynch on Combat Sports on Fanatics View, Al Iaquinta offered fans some insight into how Aljamain Sterling has been dealing with all the hate. He asserted that 'Funk Master' does himself no favors with the way he conducts himself.

"Aljo does his trash talk in his way, in his own style. I sit back and watch. I actually admire the way he lets things roll off of the trash talk. He kind of brings it on himself a lot with the way he's doing things."

Catch James Lynch's full interview with Al Iaquinta below:

Al Iaquinta believes Aljamain Sterling will mount a strong comeback

Aljamain Sterling was hurtling towards a title fight against former bantamweight champion Petr Yan at UFC 267 on October 30. He was looking to vindicate himself after he was undermined as champion for winning the title via DQ.

However, he tumbled out of the highly anticipated clash after he was denied medical clearance due to lingering issues from his neck surgery. A legion of fighters and fans took to social media to reveal their qualms with the move.

What's more, he was heavily criticized after images of him sparring with Adrian Yanez hit the internet, which saw Yanez jump to his aid. However, Al Iaquinta has declared that Aljamain Sterling remains hell bent on proving himself when he inevitably runs it back with Yan.

"When he's ready to go, I know it's going to be a lot different fight. He didn't give a true representation of himself in that first fight. Whenever if they do fight again, it's going to be a different story."

In a recent post on social media, Aljamain Sterling shone some light upon his return to the fold. He stated that he was looking to find his way back to the octagon by next January or February.

Early 2022. Jan or Feb. really not trying to wait another year. I did that for my wrist surgery. Im not getting any younger. I need to add more W’s to my bantamweight win resume. I have 11 (12 UFC wins. Barao fight was at 140). Im tied for 2nd in UFC history behind Dillashaw twitter.com/SteamCleanMMA/…