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Aljamain Sterling wants to have a conversation with Dana White as their war of words continues. After the UFC president announced Sterling vs. Sean O’Malley was official for UFC 292, the upcoming pay-per-view event scheduled for August, the reigning UFC champion said he would try to get to the fight, but he still had injuries to deal with after his most recent defense against Henry Cejudo in May.
“I’m still injured with my legs banged up,” said Sterling on The Weekly Scraps podcast. “My bicep still sucks — supposed to get another MRI on that. I’m trying to get to this fight in August. We’ve talked a little bit about it, and we’ll try to see if we can make it happen. But my leg is still super sensitive to the touch. I hope I’m not ruining anything by me saying that, but guys, I did just fight.”
UFC champion Aljamain Sterling wants credit from Dana White
Sterling went on to say that he did indeed agree to the fight with O’Malley, but said that his ‘body has to agree’ also, which could determine whether or not he would return for the pay-per-view event. That comment led to White questioning why the ‘Funk Master’ would agree to the fight if the aforementioned injuries could sideline him.
“Aljo’s one of those guys who just can’t get out of his own way,” said White at the UFC Vegas 73 post-fight press conference. “Apparently, he’s in for the fight. Why he said that, who knows. The fight is on. The fight is absolutely, positively on.”
In response to White, the Serra-Longo Fight Team representative questioned when he would get credit from the UFC president, especially since he has ‘done everything’ the promotion has wanted. Sterling pointed to his recent defenses against Petr Yan, T.J. Dillashaw and Cejudo, all of whom he fought injured.
For White, he claimed he does give Sterling credit. That said, if he is not healthy enough to return against O’Malley, then an interim championship could get introduced.
Aljamain Sterling to Dana White: ‘I’m a phone call away!’
Tired of the tit-for-tat, Aljamain Sterling proposed a private phone call with Dana White to air out their grievances.
“I’m a phone call away boss! Respectfully, you made a fight, the night of the fight, without a single word of it mentioned to me or checking on my injuries,” tweeted Sterling. “I have a personal life outside of fighting. But once again, I’ll show up and piss in everyone’s Cheerios…again. Cheers.”
Sterling followed up with another tweet for White and co., saying he has no issues with them, despite the war of words with the UFC president.
“FTR, I got nothing but love for Dana, [UFC Chief Business Officer] Hunter Campbell, [UFC Matchmakers] Sean [Shelby] and Mick [Maynard],” tweeted Sterling. “These guys gave me a platform to change my life. I’ll forever be grateful for that and I don’t want that to ever be lost in translation.”
Should Sterling successfully return against O’Malley, he would have four consecutive defenses to his name — a new UFC record.
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