Aljamain Sterling believes to have seen through Pedro Munhoz’s dismissal of him as a bantamweight contender. And in that vision, Sterling is convinced that he sees fear.
After defeating Cody Garbrandt at UFC 235,Pedro Munhoz has been making his case for a title shot. And when T.J. Dillashaw was suspended after an adverse USADA-administered test result, the division obviously became that much more wide open without a world champion at the helm. While lobbying for a title shot, Pedro Munhoz assessed the current standing of his peers in the division and argued that Aljamain Sterling should not be in the title picture because “He’s just going to try to out-wrestle or out-grapple us.”
Aljamain Sterling initially responded on Twitter after catching wind of Munhoz comments, but now, over a week later, The Funkmaster has come forward with a proper retort:
“If that matchup were to happen, I love my chances against Pedro,” Sterling told MMA Fighting. “I saw him do an interview with some MMA website, talking about my style is not friendly for the fans, the fans want blood, he thinks I’m just going to try to out-wrestle or out-grapple him or whoever else I fight.
“My response to that is, hey dummy, did you watch my last fight with Jimmie Rivera, the guy that you fought? Did you see me get any takedowns? Did you see me needing a takedown? Or was I not picking that guy apart on the feet? In my opinion, you’re afraid. I guess I might be the new Ben Askren of the 135-pound division.”
If anything, Aljamain Sterling argues, between himself and Munhoz, it is Sterling that is more deserving of being at the front of the line:
“You (Munhoz) had two great finishes in Bryan Caraway and Cody Garbrandt, I give you that,” Sterling said. “But I smacked the crap out of Caraway in the first round — that was more of a cardio issue and doing too many workouts in the day of my fight, but that’s neither here nor there, that was in 2016, what are we doing? — he also fought Jimmie Rivera and that was a split decision, and I smacked (Rivera) up.”
With Henry Cejudo vs. Marlon Moraes now official for UFC 238, the door is wide open for Aljamain Sterling and Pedro Munhoz to settle this debate inside of a UFC Octagon.
Who do you believe would win a fight between Aljamain Sterling and Pedro Munhoz if that fight were to be booked?
