Former UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling has come to the defense of Waldo Cortes-Acosta following his performance at UFC St. Louis this past Saturday.
UFC heavyweight, Waldo Cortes-Acosta, has faced some criticism from UFC CEO, Dana White, following his decision win over the formerly undefeated Robelis Despaigne at UFC St. Louis.
Despite ‘Salsa Boy’ becoming the first fighter to beat Despaigne, Dana White labeled the fight as the ‘s******* fight of the night’, because of the nature in which Cortes-Acosta won.
Aljamain Sterling defends Waldo Cortes-Acosta’s performance
Former champion Aljamain Sterling has jumped to the defense of the 32-year-old heavyweight following White’s comments.
Sterling – who has previously been a target of Dana White‘s criticism – admitted that he doesn’t think it was that bad of a fight, “I didn’t think that was such a terrible fight. You’ve got a guy that sends other guys to the Neptunes, one hitter quitter all day long.” Sterling said in his recent YouTube video.
Prior to his loss to Cortes-Acosta, Despaigne had finished his last four fights in a total of 37 seconds, highlighting his terrifying knockout ability.
“I ain’t letting that guy hit me, I think Acosta did the right thing. He took his ass down and did what he needed to do, grinded out the fight to get the nod.
“Could there have been more exciting parts? There could always be more exciting parts and times when you can take more risks but I think he fought a great fight, did exactly what he needed to do to get the job done.” Sterling added.
Waldo Cortes-Acosta is close to a ranking at heavyweight
Although it was the Olympic Bronze medalist that was being highlighted coming into this bout, Cortes-Acosta took away the hype of the Cuban and put himself close to the heavyweight rankings.
Before his loss to Marcos Rogerio De Lima in April last year, the Dominican was unbeaten himself in MMA, with his only professional losses coming in the boxing ring.
Now riding a three-fight win streak after regaining momentum, the 32-year-old has put himself in place for a possible ranked opponent next, and after the fight, he called for Jairzinho Rozenstruik next, although he is unlikely to get pushed by the promotion.
That may not be a fight he gets next, however, Rodrigo Nascimento may be a more likely opponent for the former boxer.
The Brazilian was beaten by Derrick Lewis in the main event, and will seemingly have to now defend his number 15 ranking.
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