Aljamain Sterling disputes UFC 292 stoppage
Aljamain Sterling was on the wrong side of history at UFC 292 after Sean O’Malley managed to finish him in the second round. Although, Sterling disagreed with referee Marc Goddard’s decision to stop the contest. ‘The Funkmaster’ claimed he was never out cold and wanted the opportunity to work back into the fight.
Sterling voiced his opinion on his “The Weekly Scraps” podcast. All quotes via TheScore.
“There was not one moment where I was actually out, where I wasn’t defending myself,” Sterling said earlier this week on his “The Weekly Scraps” podcast. “(O’Malley) was going batshit crazy, throwing all these hammerfists, trying to pick his shots. A couple of them landed, but nothing where it was like, yo, I’m rocked from the impact of the punch. It was just weird.”
The UFC 292 main event was stopped after O’Malley landed a sharp counter right hand followed by a flurry of ground and pound. The call was not an easy decision for Goddard. Sterling was being hit with unanswered ground-and-pound shots, but he also rolled from his back to his hands and knees which showed a form of intelligent defense. Ultimately, Goddard stopped the fight which made it impossible to tell if Sterling was attempting to work to his feet or chase a takedown.
Regardless, of if Goddard pulled the trigger too soon, it is hard to complain about a stoppage that came after a series of unanswered strikes. Still, Sterling would have liked the closure even if it would have led to being put out cold.
“I’m not saying I would’ve came back and miraculously won,” Sterling said. “That fight either gets uglier – maybe he puts me out cold – or I get to the leg, and he gets tired, and maybe I get the takedown, and maybe it’s a crazy five-round war. Now, we just never know.”
On the contrary, O’Malley and his head coach Tim Welch claimed the stoppage was just on an episode of their podcast “TimboSugaShow.” Welch explained that he thought Sterling was getting “traumatic brain trauma” while O’Malley said he saw Sterling’s eyes roll back a few times.
Prior to UFC 292, Sterling had plans to move to featherweight. Now, those plans have changed and he will be taking time away from the sport instead.
“I want to make sure that I’m coming back at the right time, I’m taking the time off that I need to miss it and to want to compete,” Sterling said.
Should the champion have been given more time to recover or did Goddard make the right call? Let us know in the comments.
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