Charlotte, NC — Just one week removed from defending his UFC bantamweight title against Henry Cejudo at UFC 288, champ Aljamain Sterling took questions from media at UFC on ABC 4.
Sterling was in good spirits, although still understandably banged up from going 25 minutes just seven days ago. Aljo spoke candidly with media about his thoughts on the fight and plans for the future.
Sterling responded to a question about how and what he was doing after his monumental win last week, replying “Hanging out with family— that’s the most important thing, it’s like what’s the point of making really good money and all those types of things if you don’t have anyone to really share it with?”
“I wasn’t as happy as I’d normally been for multiple reasons, I just feel like there has been a lot that has been playing up into the fight in terms of like personal things,” Sterling revealed about the lead up to his fight against Cejudo. “And I felt like I really didn’t get to enjoy it as much. But as the days went by, I was able to kind of sit back reflect and take it all in like, yo bro, you just f*cking beat Henry Cejudo.”
When Sterling was asked about if he had re-watched the fight and his thoughts on it now that he’s had some time to digest it, he said, “I watched it back; I did my own breakdown/analysis, and I truly did think I won the first four rounds and even the fifth round was really close.”
“But if there was any round you could definitely say, oh Henry should get this one, it would be that one [the fifth round],” Aljamain added transparently. Before adding definitively, “At the end of the day the right guy won.”
Sterling also answered honestly when asked about his next targeted opponent in Sean O’Malley, saying “Sean is a tough fight, people can say whatever they want to say, the guys got skills.”
Aljamain compared his career criticisms to those of undefeated boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr., “I take chances. But relatively so in the sense of like, I don’t take a lot of damage and I think people are looking at that and they’re kind of being skeptical of me for that.”
“You going to keep denying me because of one illegal knee?” Aljo said in a shot aimed to his critics. Sterling then responded to a question of what he thought it would take to silence naysayers. “I mean at the end of the day winning. Winning is going to solve everything.”
“Fold O’Malley like a lawn chair go up to 145lbs. and start wreaking havoc there,” the bantamweight champion would go on to say to media, fully revealing the fight plans on his horizon.
“My biggest advantage at this weight class is my definitely my length and I’m going to be giving that up,” Aljo revealed about being at bantamweight in contrast to being in the next weight class up. “I know that’s something I’m going to have to make up for in other departments so maybe my cardio is going to be better and maybe I can lift and get stronger.”
Watch the full UFC Charlotte post-fight press conference with Aljamain Sterling above.
